Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) Stock Gets Downgrade from Zacks Research

Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Stagwell in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Stagwell from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Stagwell from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target (up from $10.00) on shares of Stagwell in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Stagwell from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.67.

Stagwell Trading Up 7.5%

Stagwell stock traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $11.64. The stock had a trading volume of 3,235,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,926,952. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 291.07 and a beta of 1.23. Stagwell has a 12 month low of $4.28 and a 12 month high of $11.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. Stagwell had a net margin of 0.31% and a return on equity of 29.37%. The company had revenue of $816.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Stagwell will post 0.91 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stagwell news, Director Desiree Rogers sold 12,000 shares of Stagwell stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total transaction of $129,360.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 202,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,188,167.52. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stagwell

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Stagwell by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,035,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,671,000 after purchasing an additional 923,771 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Stagwell by 53.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 673,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,237,000 after acquiring an additional 233,489 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Stagwell during the second quarter worth $3,907,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stagwell during the first quarter worth $2,862,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Stagwell by 104.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 371,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after acquiring an additional 189,751 shares during the period. 35.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Stagwell

Stagwell Inc is a global marketing and communications services company that helps brands, organizations and institutions develop strategies, engage audiences and manage their reputations. Its services include advertising, media, public relations, digital marketing, consumer insights, creative development and marketing technology.

The company operates through a network of agencies and specialized businesses serving clients across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.