Short Interest in ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) Grows By 61.9%

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ICL Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of ICL Group from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of ICL Group from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICL. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in ICL Group by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,273 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in ICL Group by 754.0% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 7,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 6,575 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in ICL Group by 35.6% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,380 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 2,985 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in ICL Group by 223.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 10,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 7,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC acquired a new position in ICL Group during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.38% of the company’s stock.

ICL Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of ICL stock opened at $6.31 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5.90 and a 200-day moving average of $4.94. 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 has a 12-month low of $3.79 and a 12-month high of $6.57. The company has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.21.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.08. ICL Group had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ICL Group will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.0403 per share. This is an increase from ICL Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. ICL Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.