The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Sees Large 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 July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,930,000 shares, an increase of 8.1% from the June 30th total of 22,130,000 shares. Approximately 6.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Tobam grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2,340.0% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 1,098 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2,024.6% in the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:IPG traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $32.01. 169,810 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,009,763. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.22. 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 has a 52 week low of $27.20 and a 52 week high of $35.24.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.33 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.98% and a net margin of 9.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on IPG shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Macquarie lowered their price objective on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded 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 note on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.13.

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.