Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Cut to “Sell” at UBS Group

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) was downgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $29.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $34.00. UBS Group’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 6.00% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley cut Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Macquarie lowered their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE:IPG opened at $30.85 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.97. The firm has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 1.10. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52-week low of $27.20 and a 52-week high of $35.17. 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 (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.02. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.98% and a net margin of 9.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. Interpublic Group of Companies’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IPG. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $242,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,150,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $168,119,000 after purchasing an additional 141,828 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,787 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 385,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,384,000 after acquiring an additional 7,750 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.