Yahoo Finance Here's Why The Interpublic Group (IPG) Stock is a Great Pick
The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc.IPG, an advertising and marketing service provider, has performed extremely well over the past year and has the potential to sustain momentum in the near term. Consequently, if you haven’t taken advantage of the share price appreciation yet, it’s time you add the stock to your portfolio.
What Makes IPG an Attractive Pick?
An Outperformer: The company’s price trend reveals that the stock has had an impressive run over the past six months. Shares of The Interpublic Group have returned 39.7% compared with its industry’s 33% growth and the 9.1% gain of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.
Gartner, Inc. Price
Gartner, Inc. price | Gartner, Inc. Quote
Solid Rank: IPG currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and has a VGM Score of A. Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2, offer the best investment opportunities. Thus, the company appears to be a compelling investment proposition at the moment. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Northward Estimate Revisions: The Zacks Consensus Estimatefor 2023 earnings has moved north in the past 60 days, reflecting analysts’ confidence in the company. The consensus estimate for fiscal 2023 earnings has moved up 4% in the past 60 days.
Positive Earnings Surprise History: IPG has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, delivering an earnings surprise of 8.2%, on average.
Bullish Industry Rank: The industry to which Interpublic Group belongs currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 16 (of 249 groups). Such a solid rank places the industry in the top 6% of the Zacks industries. Studies show that 50% of a stock price movement is directly tied to the performance of the industry group that it hails from.
In fact, a mediocre stock in a healthy group is likely to outperform a robust stock in a poor industry. Therefore, taking the industry’s performance into account becomes necessary.
Growth Factors:
The creation of direct customer relationships is one of of Interpublic’s growth strategies. Interpublic helps its clients to connect with individual customers at scale through tools and assistance. The company combines data, technology talent and media experts to develop tools to help clients in connecting with their customers.
The Interpublic Group puts efforts to attract, acquire and develop digital, creative and strategic talents to push organic growth and expand in international markets. The company has been making investments to grow its digital competence. Interpublic has been making acquisitions with high growth capacity to help increase its presence in global markets. The company has paid $251.1 million in 2022 for acquisitions. The amount spent on acquisitions in 2021 and 2020 was $67.1 million and $54.4 million respectively.
The company has committed to returning value to its shareholders in the form of dividends. Interpublic paid dividends of $457.3 million, $427.7 million and $398.1 million in 2022, 2021 and 2020 respectively. In 2022, the company had rewarded its shareholders with repurchases of $320.1 million. IPG has also authorized time-to-time repurchase of stocks up to $350 million in 2023.
Other Stocks to Consider
Some top-ranked stocks in the Zacks Business Services sector are Omnicom GroupOMC, ICF International ICFI and Gartner, Inc. IT.
For first-quarter 2023, OMC’s earnings expect a slight increase from the year-ago reported figure to $1.4. The company’s earnings are expected to grow 3.5% on a year-over-year basis in 2023.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s first-quarter 2023 earnings is pegged at $1.40, which has been revised downward 1.4% in the past 60 days. The consensus estimate for the full year is $7.17 per share. This has been revised upward 13.5% in the past 60 days. OMC currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1.
For first-quarter 2023, ICFI’s earnings are expected to increase 7.6% from the year-ago reported figure to $1.41. The company’s earnings are expected to grow 9.2% on a year-over-year basis in 2023.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s first-quarter 2023 earnings is pegged at $1.41, which has been revised upward 6% in the past 60 days. The consensus estimate for the full year is $6.3 per share. This has been revised upward 7.3% in the past 60 days. The company currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IT’s first-quarter 2023 earnings is pegged at $2.04, which has been revised upward 3% in the past 60 days. The consensus estimate for the full year is $9.49 per share which has been revised slightly upward in the past 60 days. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2.
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Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (IPG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Gartner, Inc. (IT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
ICF International, Inc. (ICFI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
