Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.04 EPS

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

NYSE IPG traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,290,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,925,513. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.88. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52 week low of $26.30 and a 52 week high of $35.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 1.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.86%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IPG. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.