ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) Short Interest Update

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,890,000 shares, an increase of 40.0% from the January 31st total of 1,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 901,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut ICL Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upgraded ICL Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $4.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on ICL Group from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICL Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in ICL Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,898,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $132,850,000 after purchasing an additional 626,553 shares during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 20,551,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $101,391,000 after acquiring an additional 3,606,357 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 16,479,059 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $81,334,000 after acquiring an additional 2,161,715 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,362,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,336,000 after acquiring an additional 219,101 shares during the period. Finally, Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD increased its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 106.0% in the 4th quarter. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD now owns 4,579,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,324 shares during the period. 13.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ICL Group Price Performance

ICL Group stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.79. 922,600 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 975,895. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $5.71 and its 200-day moving average is $4.84. ICL Group has a 12 month low of $3.79 and a 12 month high of $6.57. The stock has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. ICL Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 5.83%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ICL Group will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.0403 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is a positive change from ICL Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. ICL Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

ICL Group Company Profile

ICL Group Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty minerals and chemicals company worldwide. It operates in four segments: Industrial Products, Potash, Phosphate Solutions, and Growing Solutions. The Industrial Products segment produces bromine out of a solution that is a by-product of the potash production process, as well as bromine-based compounds; produces various grades of potash, salt, magnesium chloride, and magnesia products; and produces and markets phosphorous-based flame retardants and other phosphorus-based products.