Short Interest in ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) Rises By 40.0%

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,890,000 shares, a growth of 40.0% from the January 31st total of 1,350,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 901,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

ICL Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ICL traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.00. The company had a trading volume of 269,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 958,607. ICL Group has a 12 month low of $3.79 and a 12 month 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 cap of $7.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.84.

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. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. ICL Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 5.83%. As a group, analysts predict that ICL Group will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.0403 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. This is an increase from ICL Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. ICL Group’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ICL Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake 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 period. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 6,575 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 223.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of ICL Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of ICL Group by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,380 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 2,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.