Everforth, Inc. (ASGN): what the price requires
The current priced-in claim for Everforth, Inc. (ASGN) is temporarily suppressed because the live engine record is unavailable. The dated report remains a snapshot, not a current market read.
Generated: 2026-07-19 · Source: https://boothcheck.com/report/ASGN
Headline
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Ticker | ASGN |
| Company | Everforth, Inc. |
| Current price | $19.40/sh |
| Composition | Consulting 62% / Assignment 38% |
What The Price Requires (Inversion)
The assumption today's price embeds, recovered by inverting the valuation.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Inversion basis | whole-company |
| Operating margin needed | 3.8% |
| Operating margin today | 5.1% |
| Margin compression implied | -1.3pp |
| Multiple paid | 11x operating income |
The operating-margin requirement is derived from the framework's value band at year 12, a separately labeled basis from the headline growth/duration solve.
The price sits below what even a 5%/yr operating-profit decline would warrant; the inversion reports a bound, not a solved growth path.
Solve inputs: computed at a 7% cost of capital with 4% terminal growth over a 5-year stage (computed at the 7% minimum rate; the CAPM rate 6.1% sits below it).
Reconcile: at the x-ray's 9.3% required return this reads ~-2.7%/yr; the models below use their own rates.
How unusual the bet is: within-range
| Reference | Value |
|---|---|
| vs own history | -0.91σ |
| cohort percentile (of 225 peers) | 8 |
| implied end-window share | 0% |
Valuation X-Ray
The price is supported by asset-based and earnings-power and relative-multiple and growth-DCF value. A value/asset-supported name, not a pure growth bet.
How the valuation models price the stock relative to the market price. Price/FV above 1.0 means the market pays more than that lens defends (expensive); at or below 1.0 the lens can defend the price.
| Family | Median price/FV | Models | Reads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asset | 1.03x | 5 | expensive |
| Earnings | 0.74x | 5 | justifies |
| Relative | 0.59x | 3 | justifies |
| Growth | 0.41x | 3 | justifies |
Families that justify the price: Asset, Earnings, Relative, Growth
The models below discount at their own flat-beta convention rates (cost of equity 9.3%, WACC 3.6%); the inversion above states its own rate.
Per-Model Detail (n=16)
| Model | Family | FV | Price/FV | Applicable | Methodology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCF Perpetual Growth | Growth | $179.95 | 0.11x | yes | FCF base $0.3B, growth -1% (input: historical growth), terminal g 0.5%, WACC 3.6%, 5yr projection |
| DCF Exit Multiple | Growth | $47.07 | 0.41x | yes | Exit EV/EBITDA: 7.7x / 9.7x / 11.7x (bear / base = today's held flat / bull), 5yr |
| Relative Valuation | Relative | $32.15 | 0.60x | yes | P/E 14.08x (blended: static sector reference 18x + trailing (TTM) 8x), scenarios: 11.9x / 14.1x / 16.3x (bear / base = reference held flat / bull), EV/EBITDA 12x |
| Simple DDM | Growth | — | — | no | — |
| Two-Stage DDM | Growth | — | — | no | — |
| Simple Excess Return | Asset | $25.62 | 0.76x | yes | BV/sh $43.22, ROE (TTM) 5.5%, ke 9.3% |
| Two-Stage Excess Return | Asset | $18.86 | 1.03x | yes | 5yr excess ROE then converge to ke=9.3% |
| Discounted Future Market Cap | Growth | $12.03 | 1.61x | yes | Rev $4.0B, growth -1% (input: historical growth; tapered), Terminal P/S: 0.2x / 0.2x / 0.2x (bear / base = today's held flat / bull, cap 8x) |
| Growth-Adjusted P/E | Relative | — | — | no | — |
| Margin Trajectory | Growth | — | — | no | — |
| Earnings Power Value | Earnings | $93.91 | 0.21x | yes | Normalized EBIT (5y avg op income, one-time charges added back) $0.32B × (1−40%) / WACC 3.6% → EPV (no growth) |
| Residual Income | Asset | $18.04 | 1.08x | yes | BV $43.22 + 5yr PV of (ROE (TTM) 5.5% − Kₑ 9.3%) × BV; BV grows 3.6%/yr |
| Graham Number | Asset | $46.77 | 0.41x | yes | √(22.5 × EPS $2.25 × BVPS $43.22) — Graham's conservative floor |
| EV/EBITDA Relative | Relative | $32.62 | 0.59x | yes | EBITDA $0.24B × sector EV/EBITDA 12.0x |
| FCF Yield | Earnings | $39.11 | 0.50x | yes | FCF $290.6M / Kₑ 9.3% — zero-growth perpetuity |
| SBC-Adj FCF Yield | Earnings | $26.26 | 0.74x | yes | SBC-adj FCF $0.24B (FCF $0.29B − SBC $0.05B) capitalized at Kₑ |
| Ben Graham Formula | Earnings | $1.89 | 10.26x | yes | EPS $2.25 × (8.5 + 2×-5.0%) × (4.4 / 5.3%) |
| ROIC-Justified P/B | Asset | $6.07 | 3.20x | yes | BV $43.22 × (ROIC 0.5% / WACC 3.6%) |
| P/Sales Sector | Relative | $240.36 | 0.08x | yes | Revenue $3.98B × sector P/S 2.5x |
| PEG Fair Value | Relative | — | — | no | — |
| Earnings Yield | Earnings | $24.32 | 0.80x | yes | EPS $2.25 / required return 9.3% (Rf 4.3% + ERP 5.0%) |
| Funds From Operations Multiple | Relative | — | — | no | — |
| Clinical Phase NPV | Growth | — | — | no | — |
| Merton | Asset | — | — | no | — |
| V5 Mechanical | — | — | — | no | — |
Solvency
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Net debt | $1.3b |
| Net debt / NOPAT (after-tax) | 12.42x |
| Net debt / operating income (pre-tax) | 6.45x |
| Interest coverage | 3.0x |
| Share count CAGR (buyback) | -5.7% |
| Burning cash | no |
Bullet Takeaways
- ASGN, now rebranding as Everforth, provides IT consulting and technology staffing to commercial and government clients, with consulting now the larger segment at about 62% of the business.
- The stock has been cut hard, to about $19 from a 52-week high above $60, on flat revenue and federal-government weakness, and now trades around 11 times operating income, below where even a modest decline would be valued.
- Capital is being returned aggressively while the price is depressed: the share count has shrunk about 6% a year, and the company is also spending on acquisitions like the $290 million Quinnox deal to push into digital engineering.
Bull Case
The clearest signal of management's view sits in the capital-allocation record: the company is buying back its own stock steadily, shrinking the share count about 6% a year, and it is doing so while the price has fallen to roughly $19 from a 52-week high above $60. Retiring shares of a cash-generative business at a depressed valuation is the highest-return use of capital available when the market has overcorrected, because each repurchased share retires more earnings power than it would at a normal multiple. The buyback is the company betting on itself at a low price.
The business mix is shifting toward the more durable, higher-value side. Consulting now makes up about 62% of revenue, and within that the commercial consulting business grew, with the filing reporting commercial revenues "up 14.4 percent year-over-year" in the relevant period. Consulting is stickier than pure staffing because it is project-based and embedded in clients' technology roadmaps, and it carries a backlog: the filing cites a contract backlog of "$2.9 billion as of December 31, 2025", future revenue already awarded. To accelerate that shift, the company acquired Quinnox for $290 million to add digital-engineering and global-delivery capabilities, a deal it expects to contribute about $100 million of revenue at a low-20s EBITDA margin.
At about 11 times operating income, the methods anchored on what the business earns land above the price: the sector price-to-earnings comparison reaches the low $30s, the cash-flow exit-multiple method the mid-$30s, and the asset-based approaches the low-to-high $20s. Management guided second-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $85 million to $95 million, a margin of 8.8% to 9.5%, and analyst price targets sit well above the current price. The bull case is a cash-generative, consulting-led IT services business trading at a recession-style multiple, with management retiring shares and reshaping the mix toward higher-value work while it waits for the cycle to turn.
Bear Case
The advantage a staffing-and-consulting firm relies on, being the trusted intermediary that places skilled technologists, is eroding from two directions at once, and the stock's collapse is the market pricing that erosion. The first is the federal government. The Federal segment, which the filing notes is "all consulting revenues," fell, with revenues "down 3.3 percent year-over-year," and management attributed first-quarter federal weakness to government efficiency cuts. A large book of government consulting work is only as stable as federal spending priorities, and those have turned hostile. That is not a cyclical dip the company can wait out; it is a deliberate reduction in the demand for exactly what this segment sells.
The second erosion is structural and slower. IT staffing is a commoditizing business: clients increasingly want fewer contractors, offshore delivery undercuts domestic placement on price, and artificial intelligence is beginning to automate the kind of work that staffing once filled with human seats. The pivot to consulting and digital engineering is the response, but it is also an admission that the legacy assignment business, still 38% of revenue, faces secular pressure. Revenue was essentially flat in the latest quarter, and the company missed earnings expectations meaningfully, the profile of a business struggling to grow against these headwinds rather than one merely pausing.
The balance sheet narrows the room to maneuver. Net debt sits at roughly six times operating income with interest covered only about three times, which is elevated for a cyclical services business. Spending $290 million on the Quinnox acquisition while buying back stock and carrying that leverage is a lot of capital deployment for a company whose core demand is shrinking. If the federal cuts deepen, the commercial recovery stalls, or AI accelerates the commoditization of staffing, the low multiple is not a bargain waiting to be discovered; it is the market's accurate read on a business model under structural pressure, and the leverage would amplify the downside rather than cushion it.
Valuation
The price is making an unusually pessimistic bet. At about $19.40 (June 27, 2026) a share, ASGN trades near 11 times company-wide operating income, a multiple so low that the price sits below what even a roughly 5%-a-year decline in operating profit would warrant. That is a bound, not a target: the market is not pricing growth, it is pricing continued shrinkage, which after a fall from above $60 and a quarter of flat revenue and federal weakness is an understandable but severe stance.
The methods land mostly above the price, the pattern of a beaten-down value name. The relative-multiple family, using a sector price-to-earnings near 18 times blended down by the depressed trailing figure, lands near $32. The cash-flow exit-multiple method lands near $36. The asset-based excess-return approaches land in the high-teens to mid-$20s, anchored on a high book value of about $43 a share against a depressed trailing return on equity of 5.5%. Read together, the methods that value the business on normalized earnings power sit well above the price, while the ones that extrapolate the recent flat-to-declining revenue sit closer to it. The disagreement is the bet: pay 11 times and you are wagering that operating profit stabilizes rather than continuing to fall.
Solvency is the real constraint and deserves weight. Net debt is roughly six times operating income with interest coverage near three times, elevated for a cyclical services business, especially while the company is funding both buybacks and a $290 million acquisition. The decisive question the valuation poses is whether the consulting pivot and the commercial recovery can offset the federal contraction fast enough to stabilize earnings. If they do, the gap between the current price and the earnings-based methods in the $30s is the upside; if the federal and structural pressures keep compounding, the leverage means the downside from here is not small.
Catalysts
The first quarter of 2026 was a transition quarter in more ways than one. Revenue was flat year over year at $968.3 million, with the commercial segment up 0.5% to $675.5 million and the federal government segment down 1.1%, pressured by government efficiency cuts. Net income was $5.5 million, adjusted EBITDA was $83.6 million at an 8.6% margin, and non-GAAP earnings were $0.69 a share, below consensus; these are company-defined measures.
The forward catalysts are the rebrand, the acquisition, and the guidance. Management confirmed this was the final earnings call under the ASGN name, with the business now operating as Everforth and trading under the ticker EFOR as of April 2026. The company acquired Quinnox for $290 million to strengthen digital engineering and global delivery, expecting about $100 million of revenue contribution at a low-20s EBITDA margin. Second-quarter guidance calls for revenue of $970 million to $1.0 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $85 million to $95 million. The metrics to watch over the coming quarters are whether commercial consulting growth offsets the federal contraction, whether the Quinnox integration lifts the margin mix, and whether the buyback keeps shrinking the share count while the price is depressed.
Peer Cohorts (Per Segment, With Filing Citations)
Commercial (reported)
- RHI (Robert Half Inc.)
- FY2025 10-K: …continue making lease payments. For further information, see Note F-"Leases" to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements included under Part II-Item 8 of this report. Purchase Obligations. As of December 31, 2025, the Company's contractual purchase obligations were $221 million, primarily related to software…
- FY2025 10-K: By-Laws of Robert Half Inc., incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to Registrant's Current Report on Form 10-Q dated May 2, 2024. 4.1 Description of Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. *10.1 Form of Power of Attorney and Indemnification Agreement, incorporated by…
- MAN (ManpowerGroup Inc.)
- FY2025 10-K: Corporate expenses $ ( 153.7 ) Goodwill impairment charges ( 55.1 ) Intangible asset amortization expense (c) ( 34.6 ) Operating profit 255.8 Interest and other expenses, net ( 49.9 ) Earnings before income taxes $ 205.9 (a) The United States revenues above represent revenues from our company-owned branches and…
- FY2025 10-K: Corporate expenses $ ( 146.1 ) Intangible asset amortization expense (c) ( 32.7 ) Operating profit 306.0 Interest and other expenses, net ( 49.2 ) Earnings before income taxes $ 256.8 (a) The United St ates revenues above represent revenues from our company-owned branches and franchise fees received from our franchise…
- KFY (KORN FERRY)
- FY2025 10-K: CURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from __to ___ Commission File Number 001-14505 KORN FERRY (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter) Delaware 95-2623879 (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 1900 Avenue of the Stars ,…
- FY2025 10-K: …form of Long-Term Disability Insurance Policy), filed as Exhibit 10.5 to the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-61697), filed September 4, 1998. 10.5*+ Form of U.S. and International Enhanced Executive Benefit and Wealth Accumulation Plan, filed as Exhibit 10.6 to the Company's Registration…
- EXLS (EXLSERVICE HOLDINGS, INC.)
- FY2025 10-K: …exls:HistoricalVolatilitiesMonteCarloSimulationModelPerformanceRestrictedStockUnitsMember 2025-01-01 2025-12-31 0001297989 exls:AmendmentAndRestatementOfThe2006OmnibusAwardPlan2015PlanMember exls:RiskFreeInterestRateMonteCarloSimulationModelPerformanceRestrictedStockUnitsMember 2025-01-01 2025-12-31 0001297989…
- FY2025 10-K: …2025-12-31 0001297989 exls:InternationalGrowthMarketsMember 2025-12-31 0001297989 us-gaap:CustomerRelationshipsMember 2025-12-31 0001297989 us-gaap:CustomerRelationshipsMember 2024-12-31 0001297989 us-gaap:DevelopedTechnologyRightsMember 2025-12-31 0001297989 us-gaap:DevelopedTechnologyRightsMember 2024-12-31…
- CTSH (COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
- FY2025 10-K: …ctsh:FinancialServicesMember 2025-01-01 2025-12-31 0001058290 us-gaap:TimeAndMaterialsContractMember ctsh:ProductsandResourcesMember 2025-01-01 2025-12-31 0001058290 us-gaap:TimeAndMaterialsContractMember ctsh:CommunicationsMediaandTechnologyMember 2025-01-01 2025-12-31 0001058290…
- FY2025 10-K: 224; Letter Agreement with each of Steven Rohleder and Sandra Wijnberg regarding grant of dividend equivalents on previously issued Deferred Stock Units 10-Q 000-24429 10.8 8/3/2023 10.27† Retirement, Death and Disability Policy 10-Q 000-24429 10.1 7/30/2020 10.28† Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation Senior…
- EPAM (EPAM SYSTEMS, INC.)
- FY2025 10-K: 7 3,206,168 Selling, general and administrative expenses 369,055 267,032 636,087 Depreciation and amortization expense 40,009 20,076 60,085 Segment operating profit: $ 541,424 $ 284,176 $ 825,600 Unallocated costs: Stock-based compensation expense ( 167,297 ) Amortization of purchased intangibles ( 29,475 ) Other…
- FY2025 10-K: …the Company's reportable segments (Note 19 "Segment Information") for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023: Year Ended December 31, 2025 Reportable Segments Americas Europe Consolidated Revenues Industry Verticals Financial Services $ 603,711 $ 712,776 $ 1,316,487 Consumer Goods, Retail & Travel 479,934…
- DXC (DXC Technology Co)
- FY2025 10-K: …Amendment to the Receivables Purchase Agreement dated as of September 1, 2022, among DXC Receivables LLC (f/k/a CSC Receivables LLC), as Seller, DXC Technology Company, as Servicer, PNC Bank, National Association, as Administrative Agent, and the persons from time to time party thereto as Purchasers and Group Agents…
- FY2025 10-K: CSC Receivables LLC), as Seller, DXC Technology Company, as Servicer, PNC Bank, National Association, as Administrative Agent, and the persons from time to time party thereto as Purchasers and Group Agents (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to DXC Technology Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the…
Federal Government (reported)
- CACI (CACI International Inc)
- FY2025 10-K: …could result in our inability to compete directly for prime contracts. Our federal government contracts may be terminated by the government at any time and may contain other provisions permitting the government not to continue with contract performance, and if lost contracts are not replaced, our operating results…
- FY2025 10-K: …would be materially and adversely affected. The federal government is our primary customer, with revenues from federal government contracts, either as a prime contractor or a subcontractor, accounting for 95.7% and 95.1% of our total revenues in fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively. Specifically, we generated 75.4% and…
- LDOS (Leidos Holdings, Inc.)
- FY2025 10-K: …to be entitled to, based on the assessment of the contract specific variable fee criteria, complexity of work and related risks, extent of customer discretion, amount of variable consideration received historically and the potential of significant reversal of revenue. Contracts with the U.S. government are subject to…
- FY2025 10-K: …to which we contribute and receive expert knowledge, could be diminished. If any of the foregoing occurs, the amount of business with the U.S. government and other customers could decrease, and our business, future revenues, financial condition, and growth prospects could be adversely affected. A decline in the U.S.…
- SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation)
- FY2025 10-K: …It uses a highly automated, cloud-hosted tool set to rapidly build, test and deploy solutions and works with customers to enhance solutions going forward. Costs associated with corporate functions that are not allocable to the reportable segments are presented as Corporate. See Note 16-Business Segments Information…
- FY2025 10-K: …types of services for particular customers. OCI arises when we engage in activities that may make us unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the U.S. government, impair our objectivity in performing contract work, or provide us with an unfair competitive advantage. Existing OCI, and any OCI that may…
- BAH (BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON HOLDING CORPORATION)
- FY2025 10-K: …• claim rights in solutions, systems, and technology produced by us, appropriate such work-product for their continued use without continuing to contract for our services and disclose such work-product to third parties, including other U.S. government agencies and our competitors, which could harm our competitive…
- FY2025 10-K: S. government's budget process, including as a result of a failure to raise the debt ceiling, could result in a reduction in our backlog and have a material adverse effect on our revenue and operating results. On March 15, 2025, the President signed into law the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act,…
- PSN (Parsons Corporation)
- FY2025 10-K: …and cash flows would be adversely affected. The U.S. federal government and its agencies, including the military and intelligence community, collectively are our largest customer. In particular, it represents substantially all of the revenue of our Federal Solutions segment. Approximately 19% and 23% of accounts…
- FY2025 10-K: …before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) contribution of 46% and 54%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2025 ("fiscal 2025"). See "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Segment Results" for further discussion on our segments. Federal…
- KBR (KBR, Inc.)
- FY2025 10-K: …or our failure to compete effectively may result in fewer orders, reduced revenue and margins and loss of market share. Our U.S. government contract work is regularly reviewed and audited by the U.S. government, U.S. government auditors and others, and these reviews can lead to withholding or delay of payments to us,…
- FY2025 10-K: …federal government processes and reduce expenditures. Although DOGE was disbanded in November 2025, we cannot rule out the possibility of similar initiatives occurring in the future. Further, on April 15, 2025, Executive Order 14275, "Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement," was signed, directing major…
Methodology Note
- Priced-in inversion: the valuation is inverted on the current price to recover the operating-income growth, duration, and steady-state margin the price embeds (ROE for financials, FFO growth for REITs).
- Valuation x-ray: the valuation models, grouped into four families (asset, earnings, relative, growth). Each model is expressed as a price/FV ratio (distance from price), not a point fair-value estimate. The spread across families is the disagreement.
- Solvency: net cash/debt, net-debt-to-NOPAT, interest coverage, and share-count CAGR from EDGAR financials (net debt / FFO and fixed-charge coverage for REITs; regulatory-capital framing for financials).
- Peer cohorts: per-segment comparables with deep-linkable SEC filing citations.
Fundamentals sourced from SEC EDGAR filings. Current price from Databento. The priced-in inversion and valuation x-ray are computed by the boothcheck engine; narrative composed by AI from the structured data.
Sources
Q1 2026 results, April 2026 · FY2025 10-K · FY2025 10-K; Q1 2026 results, April 2026 · company financials · Q1 2026 results, April 2026; company financials