Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.44.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on IPG shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $24.72 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.25. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The firm has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 27.21%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 21,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 15,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 119,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,257,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.