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

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during 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 days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.7 days. Approximately 6.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $31.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,807,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,891,059. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.78. The firm has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.07 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.98% and a net margin of 9.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 46.98%.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Syon Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 8,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 886,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,923,000 after purchasing an additional 258,725 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 16,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 6,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on IPG shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $34.00 to $32.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.44.

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.