Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Interpublic Group of Companies has been upgraded to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, reflecting a cautious outlook on the stock's performance.
• Barclays recently downgraded the stock from "overweight" to "equal weight", slashing its target price from $34.00 to $27.50, while JPMorgan and UBS also adjusted their price targets downwards.
• The company's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $0.75 earnings per share, compared to a consensus estimate of $0.55, although its revenue showed a 6.6% year-over-year decline.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on IPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $34.00 to $27.50 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $27.00 to $25.60 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.39.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 1.0%

IPG traded up $0.25 on Friday, hitting $26.10. The company had a trading volume of 5,284,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,995,708. The firm has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 1.05. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1 year low of $22.51 and a 1 year high of $33.05. The company's fifty day moving average price is $24.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.20. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 28.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.7% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,819,997 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $362,794,000 after buying an additional 934,613 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,998,667 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $342,687,000 after purchasing an additional 217,212 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 12,975,872 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $363,584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492,019 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,610,766 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $259,752,000 after acquiring an additional 360,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,510,242 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $231,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,797,490 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.