Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) to Buyback $155.00 million in Outstanding Stock

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.8 %

IPG opened at $27.00 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.90. 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 has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.11. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52 week low of $26.30 and a 52 week high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd 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 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on IPG shares. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

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.