Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) PT Raised to $9.00 at Benchmark

Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Benchmark from $6.50 to $9.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Benchmark’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 30.43% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on STGW. TheStreet upgraded Stagwell from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $7.50 target price on shares of Stagwell in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Stagwell presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.06.

Stagwell Trading Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ:STGW traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $6.90. The stock had a trading volume of 692,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,891. Stagwell has a 52 week low of $3.83 and a 52 week high of $8.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stagwell

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STGW. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Stagwell by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 20,266,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,369,000 after buying an additional 2,731,100 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Stagwell during the 4th quarter worth $12,842,000. CastleKnight Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Stagwell by 372.7% during the 4th quarter. CastleKnight Management LP now owns 1,467,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157,239 shares during the last quarter. My Personal CFO LLC boosted its position in Stagwell by 153.5% during the fourth quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 1,333,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,841,000 after purchasing an additional 807,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Stagwell in the third quarter valued at about $3,568,000. 35.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stagwell Company Profile

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.