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

Shares of ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:EFOR) 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 changing hands.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on EFOR. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of ASGN from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of ASGN from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of ASGN from $62.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of ASGN from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on ASGN from $35.00 to $17.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $29.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at ASGN

In related news, CEO Theodore S. Hanson bought 51,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.24 per share, with a total value of $999,806.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 376,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,250,459.32. This trade represents a 16.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Sadasivam Iyer bought 1,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.67 per share, for a total transaction of $25,163.70. Following the transaction, the president owned 61,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,386.35. The trade was a 1.83% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have bought 91,375 shares of company stock valued at $1,770,367. Insiders own 14.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASGN

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of ASGN by 68.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 68,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,647,000 after acquiring an additional 27,903 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in ASGN by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 62,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,032,000 after acquiring an additional 32,437 shares during the period. New South Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in ASGN by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. now owns 635,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,588,000 after acquiring an additional 178,895 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in ASGN by 190.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its stake in ASGN by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,206,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,139,000 after purchasing an additional 134,513 shares during the last quarter. 95.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASGN Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $837.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 0.52.

ASGN (NYSE:EFOR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. ASGN has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.720-0.900 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that ASGN Incorporated will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

ASGN Company Profile

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.