The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Short Interest Down 6.2% in September

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,570,000 shares, a drop of 6.2% from the August 31st total of 25,130,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days. Currently, 6.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $31.22 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $11.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.88. Interpublic Group of Companies has a twelve month low of $27.20 and a twelve month high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.02. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 27.98%. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Interpublic Group of Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 46.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.63.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IPG. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,922,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,954,000 after buying an additional 777,456 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,842,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $199,063,000 after purchasing an additional 828,150 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.5% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 5,710,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $166,117,000 after acquiring an additional 193,898 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,604,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $163,049,000 after purchasing an additional 255,250 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 19.8% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,436,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,157,000 after buying an additional 899,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

About Interpublic Group of Companies

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc provides advertising and marketing services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Media, Data & Engagement Solutions, Integrated Advertising & Creativity Led Solutions, and Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions. The Media, Data & Engagement Solutions segment provides media and communications services, digital services and products, advertising and marketing technology, e-commerce services, data management and analytics, strategic consulting, and digital brand experience under the IPG Mediabrands, UM, Initiative, Kinesso, Acxiom, Huge, MRM, and R/GA brand names.