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

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) was the target of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 29,100,000 shares, an increase of 15.8% from the November 15th total of 25,120,000 shares. Approximately 7.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,030,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $29.00 in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.71.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE IPG traded up $0.03 on Monday, reaching $29.92. The company had a trading volume of 7,364,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,247,313. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $30.03 and its 200 day moving average is $30.36. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52-week low of $26.88 and a 52-week high of $35.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 1.10.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 62.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 4,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% during 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 last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.2% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 17,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.9% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 52.5% in 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 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.