Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Raised to “Equal Weight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $34.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $26.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.25% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on IPG. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $29.00 in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.71.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE IPG opened at $30.29 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.40. The stock has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 1.10. 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 52 week low of $26.88 and a 52 week high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IPG. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 883 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 652.2% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

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.