ASGN (NYSE:EFOR) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

ASGN (NYSE:EFOR) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. ASGN had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 10.30%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $983.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. ASGN updated its Q3 2026 guidance to 0.920-1.100 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from ASGN’s conference call:

• Second-quarter results exceeded guidance, with revenue above $1 billion and adjusted EBITDA margin of 9.6%, both above the high end of the company’s outlook.
• Commercial bookings improved meaningfully, including stronger-than-expected Workday demand, lifting trailing-12-month book-to-bill to 1.2x. Management said bookings conversion has returned toward historical norms and expects commercial revenue to reach year-over-year growth by the fourth quarter.
• Everforth reported broad-based sequential improvement across all five commercial verticals and cited growing demand for AI, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and enterprise platforms. The company also highlighted new federal AI and cybersecurity awards, hyperscaler data-center work, and potential revenue synergies from Quinnox.
• Revenue remained down year over year in both commercial consulting, by 0.9%, and federal government, by 2.3%; federal trailing-12-month book-to-bill was only 0.8x. The company expects more meaningful federal revenue acceleration in the fourth quarter and into 2027.
• Third-quarter guidance calls for revenue of $994 million to $1.024 billion and adjusted EBITDA margin of 9.6% to 10.3%, while including $7.5 million to $9.5 million of strategic-planning expenses. Free-cash-flow conversion was 48% of adjusted EBITDA in the quarter versus a full-year target of 60%–65%, and management prioritized debt repayment following the Quinnox acquisition.

ASGN Trading Up 17.4%

Shares of EFOR stock traded up $4.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $27.49. 1,852,741 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,055,729. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.10. ASGN has a 52-week low of $16.90 and a 52-week high of $54.94. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on EFOR shares. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of ASGN from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on ASGN from $35.00 to $17.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on ASGN from $33.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial raised ASGN from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded ASGN from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $28.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASGN

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ASGN by 190.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of ASGN during the 3rd quarter worth $515,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of ASGN by 96.9% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 30,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 15,011 shares during the period. Finally, New South Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in ASGN by 39.2% in 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 last quarter. 95.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting ASGN

Here are the key news stories impacting ASGN this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ASGN reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.91 per share, exceeding the $0.82 consensus estimate. Revenue of $1.01 billion also surpassed expectations of approximately $983 million to $987 million. ASGN Second-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: The quarter included $96.7 million in adjusted EBITDA, $52.2 million in operating cash flow, $46.3 million in free cash flow, and the repurchase of approximately 400,000 shares. These results support the company’s financial flexibility and shareholder-return program. ASGN Second-Quarter Results
• Neutral Sentiment: ASGN issued third-quarter EPS guidance of $0.92 to $1.10, bracketing the analyst consensus estimate of $1.00. The midpoint is broadly in line with expectations, but the range indicates some uncertainty around near-term performance.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, quarterly revenue declined 1.3% year over year, while EPS fell from $1.17 in the prior-year period. The results therefore show solid execution against estimates but continued pressure on growth and profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its ASGN price target from $33 to $26 and assigned an “equal weight” rating. The new target implies approximately 5.4% downside from the referenced share price, creating a negative catalyst for the stock. Wells Fargo Price Target Update

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.