ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) Short Interest Update

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

ICL Group Trading Up 3.4 %

ICL Group stock opened at $5.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.22. ICL Group has a 12 month low of $3.79 and a 12 month high of $5.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

ICL Group Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICL Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of ICL Group by 223.7% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 10,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 7,405 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in ICL Group by 35.6% in 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 last quarter. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in ICL Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of ICL Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of ICL Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded ICL Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

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.