ASGN (NYSE:EFOR) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• ASGN shares gapped up after Truist Financial upgraded the stock from hold to buy and raised its price target to $36 from $33. The stock opened at $20.03 versus a prior close of $18.31 and last traded around $21.13.
• Analyst opinion on ASGN remains cautious overall, with the consensus rating at Reduce and an average price target of $29.83. Recent moves from other firms were mixed, including several target cuts and one upgrade from strong sell to hold.
• Insiders have been buying shares, including Director Brian J. Callaghan and President Sadasivam Iyer, with insiders purchasing 91,375 shares over the last 90 days. The company also reported a quarterly EPS miss, earning $0.69 versus the $0.97 estimate.

Shares of ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:EFOR - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after Truist Financial upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $18.31, but opened at $20.03. Truist Financial now has a $36.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $33.00. ASGN shares last traded at $21.13, with a volume of 215,954 shares trading hands.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of ASGN from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on ASGN from $54.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on ASGN from $35.00 to $17.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ASGN from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of ASGN from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ASGN has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $29.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ASGN news, Director Brian J. Callaghan bought 5,121 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.27 per share, with a total value of $103,802.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 328,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,667,816.50. This trade represents a 1.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Sadasivam Iyer acquired 1,110 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.67 per share, with a total value of $25,163.70. Following the acquisition, the president directly owned 61,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,386.35. This represents a 1.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 91,375 shares of company stock valued at $1,770,367. 14.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASGN

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASGN by 97.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 542 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASGN during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ASGN by 119.0% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ASGN by 190.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the period. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in ASGN during the 4th quarter worth approximately $245,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.36% of the company's stock.

ASGN Trading Up 15.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $19.13. The stock has a market cap of $869.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 0.52.

ASGN (NYSE:EFOR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.28). ASGN had a return on equity of 10.30% and a net margin of 2.46%.The firm had revenue of $968.30 million for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. ASGN has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.720-0.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ASGN Incorporated will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About ASGN

ASGN is a provider of professional services that connects skilled talent with organizations seeking technology, digital, creative and engineering expertise. The firm focuses on staffing and workforce solutions, delivering contract and permanent placement services as well as project-based consulting and managed services to support clients’ technical and operational needs.

Its offerings commonly include IT consulting, digital transformation support, application development and maintenance, data and analytics, cybersecurity, cloud services and engineering resources.

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