ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.09. ASGN had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $994.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ASGN shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $42.00 target price (down from $53.00) on shares of ASGN in a report on Monday, July 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $55.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of ASGN in a report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on ASGN from $105.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on ASGN from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on ASGN from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASGN

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its holdings in shares of ASGN by 53.1% in the 2nd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,019,406 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $50,900,000 after acquiring an additional 353,419 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of ASGN by 3.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,074 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP raised its position in shares of ASGN by 105.5% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 7,378 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 3,788 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASGN in the 1st quarter worth $396,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of ASGN by 662.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 908 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.36% of the company's stock.

ASGN Stock Down 0.6%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 2.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22 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.