Short Interest in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Grows By 15.8%

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 29,100,000 shares, a growth of 15.8% from the November 15th total of 25,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,030,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.8 days. Approximately 7.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 30.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 4,146 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 382.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 65,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,916,000 after buying an additional 52,214 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 484.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 7,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 107.6% in the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 97,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,839,000 after acquiring an additional 50,592 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:IPG traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $29.92. 7,364,119 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,247,313. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.36. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1 year low of $26.88 and a 1 year high of $35.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 1.10.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IPG. BNP Paribas cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America dropped their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.71.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company Profile

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.