StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a report released on Sunday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 1.6 %

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $25.35 on Friday. Interpublic Group of Companies has a one year low of $22.51 and a one year high of $33.05. The stock has a market cap of $9.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.01. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.69.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. Interpublic Group of Companies’s revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter worth $31,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other 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.