Interpublic's Good Fortune Pays Dividends

It's alive! The company might not have survived its recent perils if it didn't have enough cash on hand. As fellow Fool Jim Royal has observed in looking at his Cash King metric, Interpublic has made steady progress over the past five years in generating the hard cash it needs, bringing its free cash flow-to-revenue ratio back in line with major competitors WPP (Nasdaq: WPPGY) and Omnicom (NYSE: OMC). After an encouraging 2010, during which net income almost doubled, the company, eager to show off its renewed vigor, used $480 million to reduce debt and buy back a substantial portion of its convertible preferred stock. The board of directors has also authorized a buyback of common shares of up to $300 million. On top of that, Interpublic has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.06 per share, its first dividend since 2002.... Read more