ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.80, but opened at $4.95. ICL Group shares last traded at $4.90, with a volume of 128,205 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

ICL Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.97 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.37.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The basic materials company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ICL Group Ltd will post 0.35 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.0133 per share. This represents a $0.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 4th. ICL Group’s dividend payout ratio is 45.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ICL Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in ICL Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,689,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of ICL Group by 2,927,153.2% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 14,636,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,766,000 after acquiring an additional 14,635,766 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in ICL Group by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 591,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,513,000 after acquiring an additional 232,842 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in ICL Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position 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 valued at $5,676,000 after purchasing an additional 120,169 shares during the last quarter. 13.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.