ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com lowered shares of ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of ICL Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $4.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on ICL Group from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday.

ICL Group Stock Performance

Shares of ICL stock opened at $6.15 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.65 and a 200 day moving average of $4.79. ICL Group has a 1 year low of $3.79 and a 1 year high of $6.57. 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 capitalization of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.23.

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

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.0403 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. This is a positive change from ICL Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. ICL Group’s payout ratio is 40.63%.

Institutional Trading of ICL Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICL. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of ICL Group by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,273 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 6,575 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in ICL Group by 223.7% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 10,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 7,405 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 13.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.