Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Buy Rating for Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW)

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $7.50 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $6.50 price objective on shares of Stagwell in a research note on Friday, March 15th. TheStreet upgraded Stagwell from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $8.06.

Stagwell Stock Down 3.2 %

STGW stock opened at $6.90 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.81. Stagwell has a fifty-two week low of $3.83 and a fifty-two week high of $8.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $654.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $683.12 million. Stagwell had a positive return on equity of 7.35% and a negative net margin of 0.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Stagwell will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Wade Oosterman bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.04 per share, with a total value of $25,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 128,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,148.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Mark Jeffery Penn bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $5.20 per share, for a total transaction of $52,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,480,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,898,438.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Wade Oosterman purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.04 per share, for a total transaction of $25,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 128,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,148.16. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stagwell

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Stagwell by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 112,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Stagwell by 40.8% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 9,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 2,787 shares in the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Stagwell by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 36,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 2,787 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Stagwell by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 4,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Stagwell by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 623,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,926,000 after buying an additional 4,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.61% of the company’s stock.

About Stagwell

Stagwell Inc provides digital transformation, performance media and data, consumer insights and strategy, and creativity and communications services. The company operates through three segments: Integrated Agencies Network, Brand Performance Network, and Communications Network. It designs and builds digital platforms and experiences that support the delivery of content, commerce, service, and sales; creates websites, mobile applications, back-end systems, content and data management systems, and other digital environments; designs and implements technology and data strategies; and develops software and related technology products, including artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled communications, research, and media technology, cookie-less data platforms for advance targeting and activation, software tools for e-commerce applications, specialty media solutions in the augmented reality space, and text messaging applications for consumer engagement.