ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $50.02, but opened at $59.09. ASGN shares last traded at $56.26, with a volume of 461,280 shares traded.

The business services provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.09. ASGN had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 3.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. ASGN's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASGN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of ASGN in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on ASGN from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their target price on ASGN from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on ASGN from $105.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $42.00 target price (down previously from $53.00) on shares of ASGN in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASGN

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASGN in the first quarter valued at about $396,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in ASGN by 662.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 908 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of ASGN by 13.4% in the first quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 665,987 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,971,000 after buying an additional 78,794 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of ASGN by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 21,983 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,832,000 after purchasing an additional 6,576 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in ASGN by 3.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,074 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. 95.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASGN Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 2.37. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $51.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.57. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.97.

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.

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