ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) Short Interest Update

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,590,000 shares, a decline of 22.8% from the December 15th total of 2,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 797,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of ICL Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

ICL Group Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ICL opened at $5.91 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $4.91 and its 200 day moving average is $4.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.91. ICL Group has a 1 year low of $3.79 and a 1 year high of $5.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.22.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The basic materials company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. ICL Group had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 8.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that ICL Group will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ICL Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were issued a $0.0133 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $0.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. ICL Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICL Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its position in ICL Group by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 44,119,257 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $189,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360,670 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of ICL Group during the third quarter worth about $11,967,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,306,997 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,873,000 after purchasing an additional 8,848 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in ICL Group by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,733,773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,564,000 after buying an additional 159,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in ICL Group by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,335,527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,676,000 after buying an additional 120,169 shares during the period. 13.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.