ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Stock Crosses Below 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.65 and traded as low as $67.30. ASGN shares last traded at $68.01, with a volume of 324,820 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised ASGN from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded ASGN from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.75.

ASGN Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.20 and a 200-day moving average of $86.57.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. ASGN had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 4.27%. Sell-side analysts expect that ASGN Incorporated will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASGN

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its holdings in ASGN by 42.7% during the 4th 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. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in ASGN by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 13,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 3,339 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in ASGN during the 4th quarter worth about $337,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in ASGN during the 4th quarter worth about $299,000. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ASGN during the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.36% of the company’s stock.

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.