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

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) issued 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 net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on IPG. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group upgraded 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 target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.75.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.