The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the nine brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.44.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. BNP Paribas downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $34.00 to $32.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 883 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 652.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE:IPG opened at $32.06 on Friday. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52 week low of $27.20 and a 52 week high of $35.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.79. The firm has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 46.98%.

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.