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ASGN (ASGN) Earnings Power Value (EPV) : $66.76 (As of Dec23)


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What is ASGN Earnings Power Value (EPV)?

As of Dec23, ASGN's earnings power value is $66.76. *

* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

Margin of Safety is -47.88

The basic concept of EPV is that one should value a stock based on the current free cash flow of a company and not on future projections which may, or may not, come true. It is arguably a better way to analyze stocks than Discounted Cash Flow analysis that relies on highly speculative growth assumptions many years into the future. Assumption: Current profitability is sustainable.


ASGN Earnings Power Value (EPV) Historical Data

The historical data trend for ASGN's Earnings Power Value (EPV) can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* Premium members only.

ASGN Earnings Power Value (EPV) Chart

ASGN Annual Data
Trend Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23
Earnings Power Value (EPV)
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 31.51 42.37 56.53 56.80 66.76

ASGN Quarterly Data
Mar19 Jun19 Sep19 Dec19 Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23
Earnings Power Value (EPV) Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 56.80 59.59 61.79 64.15 66.76

Competitive Comparison of ASGN's Earnings Power Value (EPV)

For the Information Technology Services subindustry, ASGN's Earnings Power Value (EPV), along with its competitors' market caps and Earnings Power Value (EPV) data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


ASGN's Earnings Power Value (EPV) Distribution in the Software Industry

For the Software industry and Technology sector, ASGN's Earnings Power Value (EPV) distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where ASGN's Earnings Power Value (EPV) falls into.



ASGN Earnings Power Value (EPV) Calculation

Earnings Power Value also known as just Earnings Power is a valuation technique popularised by Bruce Greenwald, an authority on value investing at Columbia University. It is arguably a better way to analyze stocks than Discounted Cash Flow analysis that relies on highly speculative growth assumptions many years into the future.

The basic concept of EPV is that one should value a stock based on the current free cash flow of a company and not on future projections which may, or may not, come true. This valuation tool excludes the potential growth that a company may have so that needs to be looked at separately. Since future growth is excluded from the analysis, only the maintenance capital expenditures are subtracted from after-tax EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) and growth capex is ignored.

ASGN's "Earning Power" Calculation:

Average of Last 20 Quarters Last Quarter
Revenue 4,017
DDA 92
Operating Margin % 8.40
SGA * 25% 188
Tax Rate % 26.35
Maintenance Capex 32
Cash and Cash Equivalents 176
Short-Term Debt 20
Long-Term Debt 1,086
Shares Outstanding (Diluted) 47

1. Start with "Earnings" not including accounting adjustments (one-time charges not excluded unless policy has changed). "Earnings" are "Operating Income.

2. Look at average margins over a business/Industry cycle: Average Operating Margin = 8.40%

To normalize margins and eliminate the effects on profitability of valuing the firm at different points in the business cycle, it is usually best to take a long-term average of operating margins. Ideally this would be as long as 10 years and include at least one economic downturn. However, since most of companies do not have as long as 10-year history, here GuruFocus uses the latest 5 years data to do the calculation. To smooth out unusual years but reflect recent developments, we take an average of the 5 year margin.

3. Multiply average margins by sustainable revenues and then adjust for maintenance SGA. This yields "normalized" EBIT:

To be conservative, GuruFocus uses an average of the 5 year revenues as the sustainable revenue.
EPV analysis recognises that part of SG&A expenditure is made to maintain and replace the existing assets, while part is made to grow sales. Since EPV is only interested in what it costs a going concern to maintain its existing asset base, it adds back a percentage of SG&A (between 15% and 50% - this is a matter of judgment and industry knowledge) to make up for the fact that some of this expenditure went to fund growth and shouldn't be accounted for. To start off, we assume 25% for the sake of prudence.
Sustainable Revenue = $4,017 Mil, Average Operating Margin = 8.40%, Average Adjusted SGA = 188,
therefore "Normalized" EBIT = Sustainable Revenue * Average Operating Margin + Average Adjusted SGA = 4,017 * 8.40% +188 = $525.881704 Mil.

4. Multiply by one minus Average Tax Rate (NOPAT):

Same as average operating margin calculation, GuruFocus takes an average of the 5 years tax rates.
Average Tax Rate = 26.35%, and "Normalized" EBIT = $525.881704 Mil,
therefore After-tax "Normalized" EBIT = "Normalized" EBIT * ( 1 - Average Tax Rate ) = 525.881704 * ( 1 - 26.35% ) = $387.29083972784 Mil.

5. Add back Excess Depreciation (after tax at 1/2 average tax rate). This yields "normalized" Earnings:

Excess Depreciation = Average DDA * % of Excess Depreciation (after tax at 1/2 average tax rate) = 92 * 0.5 * 26.35% = $12.1808188 Mil.
"Normalized" Earnings = After-tax "Normalized" EBIT + Excess Depreciation = 387.29083972784 + 12.1808188 = $399.47165852784 Mil.

6. Adjusted for Maintenance Capital Expenditure:

First, calculate the revenue change regarding to the previous year. If the revenue decreased from the previous year, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
Second, if the revenue increased from the previous year, then calculate the percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue.
Third, calculate Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase.
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase] was negative, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase] was positive, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase.
Fourth, GuruFocus uses an average of the 5 year maintenance capital expenditures as maintenance CAPEX.
ASGN's Average Maintenance CAPEX = $32 Mil *.
* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

7. Investors require a return of "WACC" for the risk they are taking: WACC = 9%

8. ASGN's current cash and cash equivalent = $176 Mil.
ASGN's current interest bearing debt = Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation = 1,086 + 20 = $1105.2 Mil.
ASGN's current Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) = 47 Mil.

ASGN's Earnings Power Value (EPV) for Dec23 is calculated as:

EPV = ( ( Norm. Earnings-Maint. CAPEX *) / WACC + CashandEquiv - Int. Bearing Debt ) / Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average)
= ( ( 399.47165852784 - 32)/ 9%+176-1105.2 )/47
=66.76

Margin of Safety (EPV)=( Earnings Power Value (EPV)-Current Price )/Earnings Power Value (EPV)
=( 66.758182327646-98.72 )/66.758182327646
= -47.88%

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.


ASGN  (NYSE:ASGN) Earnings Power Value (EPV) Explanation

Assumption: Current profitability is sustainable.

Earnings power value (EPV) uses a very basic equation which assumes no growth, although it does rely on an assumption about the cost of capital as well as the fact that current earnings are sustainable. It also involves several adjustments to clean up the underlying Earnings figures.


Be Aware

Though using today's earnings in calculating Earnings Power Value, GuruFocus is normalizing these earnings to the business cycle. This eliminates the effects on profitability of valuing the firm at different points in the business cycle. This means that we are considering the average earnings over 5 years.


ASGN Earnings Power Value (EPV) Related Terms

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ASGN (ASGN) Business Description

Industry
Traded in Other Exchanges
N/A
Address
4400 Cox Road, Suite 110, Glen Allen, VA, USA, 23060
ASGN Inc is a provider of information technology (IT) services and professional solutions, including technology, creative, and digital, across the commercial and government sectors. It operates through two segments, Commercial and Federal Government. The Commercial Segment, which is their largest segment, provides consulting, creative digital marketing, and permanent placement services to Fortune 1000 clients and mid-market companies. The Federal Government Segment provides mission-critical solutions to the Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, and civilian agencies.
Executives
Jonathan S Holman director C/O ASGN INCORPORATED, 26745 MALIBU HILLS ROAD, CALABASAS CA 91301
Theodore S. Hanson officer: EVP, ASGN 4400 COX ROAD, SUITE 110, GLEN ALLEN VA 23060
Randolph C Blazer officer: Pres, Apex-a sub of the Issuer C/O ASGN INCORPORATED, 26745 MALIBU HILLS ROAD, CALABASAS CA 91301
Jennifer Hankes Painter officer: VP, General Counsel, Secretary C/O ASGN INCORPORATED, 26745 MALIBU HILLS ROAD, CALABASAS CA 91301
Rose Cunningham officer: Chief Accounting Officer 4400 COX ROAD, SUITE 110, GLEN ALLEN VA 23060
Arshad Matin director 26745 MALIBU HILLS ROAD, CALABASAS CA 91301
Marie Perry officer: Exec VP, CFO 26745 MALIBU HILLS RD, CALABASAS CA 91301
Mark A. Frantz other: Board Adviser 1300 CALDER ROAD, MCLEAN VA 22101
Edward L Pierce officer: Exec VP, CFO 1439 WINDY MOUNTAIN AVE., WESTLAKE VILLAGE CA 91362
Edwin A. Sheridan director ON ASSIGNMENT, INC., 26745 MALIBU HILLS ROAD, CALABASAS CA 91301
Marty R Kittrell director C/O ON ASSIGNMENT, INC., 26745 MALIBU HILLS RD., CALABASAS CA 91301
Mariel A Joliet director C/O ON ASSIGNMENT, 26745 MALIBU HILLS ROAD, CALABASAS CA 91301
Maria R Hawthorne director 701 WESTERN AVENUE, GLENDALE CA 91201
Carol Lindstrom director 5994 SILVERADO TRAIL, NAPA CA 94558
Jeremy M Jones director 2532 DUPONT AVENUE, IRVINE CA 92612