ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $5.35, but opened at $5.48. ICL Group shares last traded at $5.46, with a volume of 137,736 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

ICL Group Trading Up 2.5 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.11. The company has a market capitalization of $7.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.18. 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 (NYSE:ICL) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. ICL Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 5.83%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ICL Group Ltd will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.0403 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This is an increase from ICL Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. ICL Group’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,273 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 6,575 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in ICL Group by 223.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 10,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 7,405 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in ICL Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 35.6% in the third 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.38% of the company’s stock.

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.