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

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 25,860,000 shares, an increase of 9.7% from the September 15th total of 23,570,000 shares. Currently, 6.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 652.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the second quarter worth $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 52.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

NYSE IPG traded down $0.10 on Thursday, reaching $31.83. 1,807,241 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,891,059. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.78. The firm has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.09. Interpublic Group of Companies has a fifty-two week low of $27.20 and a fifty-two week high of $35.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. Interpublic Group of Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $34.00 to $32.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Macquarie dropped their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.