ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) Short Interest Up 8.9% in October

ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,590,000 shares, an increase of 8.9% from the October 15th total of 1,460,000 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 268,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days.

ASGN Trading Down 4.2 %

NYSE ASGN traded down $3.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $87.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 701,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 322,470. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25 and a beta of 1.40. ASGN has a 52 week low of $84.62 and a 52 week high of $106.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.25.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. ASGN had a net margin of 4.37% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that ASGN will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ASGN shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of ASGN from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of ASGN from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of ASGN in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ASGN has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Theodore S. Hanson sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.64, for a total transaction of $119,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 288,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,781,512.20. This trade represents a 0.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Randolph C. Blazer sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.03, for a total transaction of $950,300.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 85,923 shares in the company, valued at $8,165,262.69. The trade was a 10.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,398,986. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in ASGN by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ASGN by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in ASGN during the 1st quarter worth approximately $154,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in ASGN by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in ASGN by 1,851.6% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,753,000 after purchasing an additional 18,868 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.36% of the company’s stock.

ASGN Company Profile

ASGN Incorporated engages in the provision of information technology (IT) services and solutions in the technology, digital, and creative fields for commercial and government sectors in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Commercial and Federal Government. The Commercial Segment provides consulting, creative digital marketing, and permanent placement services primarily to enterprise clients.