ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $4.15, but opened at $4.42. ICL Group shares last traded at $4.45, with a volume of 239,346 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on ICL Group from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com lowered ICL Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th.

ICL Group Trading Down 2.9 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.62.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. ICL Group had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 8.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ICL Group Ltd will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ICL Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.037 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. ICL Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ICL. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of ICL Group by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 34,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,542 shares in the last quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. boosted its position in ICL Group by 18.0% in the third quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 19,726 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 3,010 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of ICL Group by 23.6% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 21,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 4,162 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 18.1% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 28,782 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 4,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of ICL Group by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 206,148 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 6,148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.38% of the company’s stock.

About ICL Group

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.