Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Board Announces Stock Repurchase Program

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of IPG opened at $26.79 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.44 and its 200-day moving average is $29.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 1.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. Equities research analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.75.

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.