The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,570,000 shares, a drop of 6.2% from the August 31st total of 25,130,000 shares. Currently, 6.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 652.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 52.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG stock opened at $31.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.88. The company has a market cap of $11.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.02. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 27.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on IPG. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.63.

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.