Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) Stock

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $82.00 to $83.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 8.17% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Omnicom Group from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (down from $87.00) on shares of Omnicom Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. Argus raised Omnicom Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Omnicom Group from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Omnicom Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.71.

Omnicom Group Price Performance

NYSE OMC opened at $76.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 196.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.73. Omnicom Group has a 1 year low of $66.33 and a 1 year high of $87.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. Omnicom Group had a return on equity of 26.45% and a net margin of 0.32%.The firm’s revenue was up 69.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Omnicom Group will post 10.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Omnicom Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 38.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Omnicom Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Omnicom Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 108,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,831,000 after purchasing an additional 14,368 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Omnicom Group by 18.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,877,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $153,068,000 after purchasing an additional 295,379 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Omnicom Group in the third quarter worth $870,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Omnicom Group by 24.2% in the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 129,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,579,000 after purchasing an additional 25,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Omnicom Group by 35.3% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 111,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,063,000 after purchasing an additional 29,014 shares in the last quarter. 91.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Omnicom Group Company Profile

Omnicom Group Inc (NYSE: OMC) is a global marketing and corporate communications holding company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1986 through the merger of the BBDO, DDB and Needham Harper agencies, Omnicom has built a portfolio of leading brands and networks serving clients across diverse industries.

The company’s primary business activities encompass advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations, and customer relationship management.