Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock.

IPG has been the subject of several other research reports. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.75.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

NYSE IPG opened at $26.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1 year low of $26.30 and a 1 year high of $35.17. The company has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.92.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%. As a group, analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after buying an additional 3,920,975 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $362,538,000 after buying an additional 511,607 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,531,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $266,614,000 after buying an additional 81,996 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $207,439,000 after buying an additional 7,374,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,393,000 after buying an additional 3,089,387 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.