Darn straight. (Hi, Jim.)
For editorial to steer an author to a specific agent would be a conflict of interest in their relationship with that author, and in their relationship with that agent. We can acknowledge that a particular agent is someone with whom we do a lot of business, but that information is public anyway.
As explained to me by Beth Meacham, Melissa Singer, and Claire Eddy, it would also be a conflict of interest to tell the author they have to have an agent, or to tell them they don't need to have an agent. We can tell them that while many authors find it useful and advantageous to have agents, others (some of whom have had notably successful careers) do not.
If they ask, we generally tell them to talk to other authors about it.