ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Lowered to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ICL. Barclays upgraded shares of ICL Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $4.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of ICL Group from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday.

ICL Group Price Performance

NYSE:ICL opened at $6.15 on Thursday. ICL Group has a one year low of $3.79 and a one year high of $6.57. The stock has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.23. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.79.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last issued its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. ICL Group had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 8.31%. Equities research analysts expect that ICL Group will post 0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ICL Group Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICL Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of ICL Group by 46.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 123,640 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 39,410 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,689,000. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of ICL Group by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 156,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 31,461 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of ICL Group by 0.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.