Share Buyback Plan Declared by Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Board of Directors

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $27.08 on Friday. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52-week low of $26.30 and a 52-week high of $35.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.35 and a 200 day moving average of $29.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.87%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 62.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on IPG shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

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.