Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Upgraded by BNP Paribas to “Outperform” Rating

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) from an underperform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. BNP Paribas currently has $38.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

IPG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Saturday, January 4th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $34.00 to $29.00 in a report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 3.1 %

IPG opened at $26.69 on Friday. Interpublic Group of Companies has a twelve month low of $26.60 and a twelve month high of $35.17. The firm has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. Interpublic Group of Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.95%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 50,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 190.7% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,921 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 4,540 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 169,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,925,000 after buying an additional 6,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

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.