Wall Street Zen Upgrades ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, signaling increased confidence from some equity analysts.
• Despite this upgrade, other analysts have lowered their price targets significantly, with Truist Financial's target dropping from $105.00 to $75.00 and Canaccord Genuity cutting its target from $115.00 to $55.00.
• ASGN reported earnings of $1.17 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, although its quarterly revenue declined by 1.4% compared to the same period last year.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on ASGN. Truist Financial decreased their price target on ASGN from $105.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of ASGN in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group lowered their target price on ASGN from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of ASGN from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and set a $42.00 price target (down previously from $53.00) on shares of ASGN in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.67.

ASGN Trading Down 3.1%

ASGN opened at $48.58 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.21. ASGN has a 1-year low of $46.63 and a 1-year high of $101.66. The company has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $994.64 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. ASGN's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that ASGN will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASGN

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in ASGN by 47,970.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 65,856 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,500,000 after purchasing an additional 65,719 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its stake 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 valued at $1,832,000 after purchasing an additional 6,576 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted 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 valued at $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of ASGN by 105.5% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 7,378 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 3,788 shares during the last quarter. 95.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ASGN

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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