Short Interest in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Expands By 8.0%

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,450,000 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the December 15th total of 22,630,000 shares. Approximately 6.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% in the second 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. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 52.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth $60,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IPG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

IPG opened at $27.84 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $28.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 1.11. Interpublic Group of Companies has a one year low of $26.30 and a one year 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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.74%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 62.26%.

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.