ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Shares Down 3.7% – Time to Sell?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

ICL Group Trading Down 1.4 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.99 and its 200-day moving average is $4.98. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.21.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.08. ICL Group had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Analysts predict that ICL Group Ltd will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.0403 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This is an increase from ICL Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. ICL Group’s payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICL Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ICL. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in ICL Group by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,273 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,985 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,405 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC bought 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.

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.