Short Interest in ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) Rises By 40.0%

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,890,000 shares, a growth of 40.0% from the January 31st total of 1,350,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 901,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

ICL Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ICL traded down $0.13 on Monday, hitting $5.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,092,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 977,209. The company has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.83. ICL Group has a twelve month low of $3.79 and a twelve month high of $6.57.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08. ICL Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 5.83%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that ICL Group will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.0403 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This is an increase from ICL Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. ICL Group’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Institutional Trading of ICL Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ICL. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in ICL Group by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,273 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of ICL Group by 754.0% during the fourth 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. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of ICL Group by 35.6% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,380 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 2,985 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 7,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in ICL Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. 13.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered ICL Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised shares of ICL Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $4.00 to $6.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of ICL Group from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday.

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.