Short Interest in ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) Expands By 8.9%

ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,590,000 shares, a growth of 8.9% from the October 15th total of 1,460,000 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 268,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days.

ASGN Stock Down 4.2 %

ASGN stock traded down $3.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $87.89. 701,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 322,470. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.02 and a 200 day moving average of $93.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25 and a beta of 1.40. ASGN has a 12-month low of $84.62 and a 12-month high of $106.42.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. ASGN had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 4.37%. ASGN's revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that ASGN will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of ASGN in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on ASGN from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on ASGN from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASGN currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at ASGN

In other news, Director Jonathan S. Holman sold 503 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.45, for a total transaction of $45,496.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,759.45. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Randolph C. Blazer sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were 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. This represents a 10.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,398,986 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASGN

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASGN during the first quarter worth $154,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of ASGN by 17.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of ASGN by 43.8% during the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $830,000 after purchasing an additional 2,868 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of ASGN by 28.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of ASGN by 1,851.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. 95.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.