Short Interest in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Decreases By 5.7%

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 26,160,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the October 15th total of 27,730,000 shares. Approximately 7.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,610,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on IPG shares. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays reduced 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. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 1st quarter worth $310,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 9.3% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 99,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,251,000 after buying an additional 8,481 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,373.5% in the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 63,921 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 59,583 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 146,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,779,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,352,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE IPG opened at $27.66 on Wednesday. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12 month low of $26.88 and a 12 month high of $35.17. The company has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 1.10. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.57.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.26%.

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.