Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04), Zacks reports. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IPG traded down $0.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $26.70. The stock had a trading volume of 2,083,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,817,095. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12-month low of $26.30 and a 12-month high of $35.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.90.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.75.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding 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 usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.