Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Downgraded by BNP Paribas to Underperform

BNP Paribas lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a neutral rating to a sell rating and cut their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Bank of America reduced 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 report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Macquarie lowered their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $33.00.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE IPG opened at $31.63 on Monday. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1 year low of $27.20 and a 1 year high of $35.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 46.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 339,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,090,000 after buying an additional 69,289 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $383,000. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 11,731 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 181,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,917,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13,944.4% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,510 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

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.