StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG)

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a report issued on Saturday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.71.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $28.13 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day moving average is $29.30 and its 200-day moving average is $30.16. Interpublic Group of Companies has a fifty-two week low of $26.88 and a fifty-two week high of $35.17.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 9.7% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 4,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 32,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.