Reviewing Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) and Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY)

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) and Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) are both business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Interpublic Group of Companies and Lendway, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Interpublic Group of Companies	0	6	3	0	2.33
Lendway	1	0	0	0	1.00

Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus target price of $32.18, indicating a potential upside of 30.67%. Given Interpublic Group of Companies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Interpublic Group of Companies is more favorable than Lendway.

Volatility and Risk

Interpublic Group of Companies has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lendway has a beta of 2.61, suggesting that its share price is 161% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Interpublic Group of Companies and Lendway’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Interpublic Group of Companies	4.27%	28.72%	6.22%
Lendway	-5.30%	-20.31%	-2.66%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.4% of Interpublic Group of Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.6% of Lendway shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Interpublic Group of Companies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of Lendway shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Interpublic Group of Companies and Lendway”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Interpublic Group of Companies	$10.21 billion	0.88	$689.50 million	$1.47	16.76
Lendway	$48.58 million	0.14	-$5.74 million	($2.44)	-1.52

Interpublic Group of Companies has higher revenue and earnings than Lendway. Lendway is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Interpublic Group of Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Interpublic Group of Companies beats Lendway on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The Integrated Advertising & Creativity Led Solutions segment offers advertising, corporate, and brand identity services; and strategic consulting under FCB, IPG Health, McCann Worldgroup, and MullenLowe Group brands. Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions segment provides public relations and other specialized communications services, live events, sports and entertainment marketing, and strategic consulting under IPG DXTRA Health, The Weber Shandwick Collective, Golin, Jack Morton, Momentum, and Octagon brand names. The company was formerly known as McCann-Erickson Incorporated and changed its name to The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. in January 1961. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Lendway

Lendway, Inc. operates as a specialty agricultural and finance company focusing on making and managing its agricultural investments in the United States and internationally. It owns and operates FarmlandCredit.com, a non-bank lending business that seeks to purchase existing loans and/or originate and fund new loans domestically. The company was formerly known as Insignia Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Lendway, Inc. in August 2023. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.