ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) Short Interest Update

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,060,000 shares, an increase of 61.9% from the February 13th total of 1,890,000 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 933,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ICL shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of ICL Group from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of ICL Group from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of ICL Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ICL Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,273 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in ICL Group by 754.0% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 7,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 6,575 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in ICL Group by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,380 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 2,985 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in ICL Group by 223.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 10,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 7,405 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in ICL Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. 13.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ICL Group Stock Up 2.0 %

ICL traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $6.25. 331,325 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 937,174. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.21. ICL Group has a 1 year low of $3.79 and a 1 year high of $6.57.

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

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.0403 dividend. This is an increase from ICL Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. ICL Group’s payout ratio is 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.