ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Trading Down 3.7% – Should You Sell?

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) was down 3.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $5.87 and last traded at $5.86. Approximately 196,302 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 772,056 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

ICL Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.21.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08. ICL Group had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that ICL Group Ltd 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. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. ICL Group’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ICL Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ICL. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ICL Group in the third quarter valued at about $66,000. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in ICL Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,306,997 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,873,000 after buying an additional 8,848 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp bought a new position in shares of ICL Group in the third quarter worth about $604,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 49.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 78,139 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 25,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. bought a new position in shares of ICL Group in the third quarter worth about $59,000. 13.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.