ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

ICL Group Ltd. (NYSE:ICL)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $5.18, but opened at $5.37. ICL Group shares last traded at $5.4150, with a volume of 246,389 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ICL has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut ICL Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ICL Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.10.

ICL Group Stock Down 2.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.29 and a 200-day moving average of $5.56.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.09. ICL Group had a return on equity of 7.44% and a net margin of 3.16%.The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ICL Group Ltd. will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

ICL Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.0465 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. ICL Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,066,383 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $167,132,000 after acquiring an additional 382,780 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its stake in ICL Group by 96.6% in the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 26,349,667 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $151,160,000 after purchasing an additional 12,946,737 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in ICL Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,297,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in ICL Group by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 19,537,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $112,054,000 after purchasing an additional 5,805,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in ICL Group by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 18,738,939 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $107,498,000 after purchasing an additional 979,321 shares during the period. 13.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ICL Group Company Profile

ICL Group is a global specialty minerals and chemicals company headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. Established in its current form through the consolidation of Israeli government–owned chemical operations, ICL has evolved into a publicly traded entity on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ICL). The company’s origins date back to state-driven mineral extraction in the Negev and the Dead Sea region, and over the decades it has grown through strategic acquisitions, technological innovation and a gradual privatization process completed in the early 2010s.

ICL’s core operations are organized into three principal business areas.