The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Short Interest Update

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 25,860,000 shares, a growth of 9.7% from the September 15th total of 23,570,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.7 days. Currently, 6.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE IPG traded up $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.93. The stock had a trading volume of 4,565,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,901,478. The company has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.07. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12 month low of $27.20 and a 12 month high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.33 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.98% and a net margin of 9.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on IPG. Macquarie reduced their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $34.00 to $32.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 10,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 883 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 17,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signet Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 20,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

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.