ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy Rating

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

Separately, Barclays cut their price target on shares of ICL Group from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th.

ICL Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ICL opened at $4.41 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.35. ICL Group has a one year low of $3.79 and a one year high of $5.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 1.23.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The basic materials company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. ICL Group had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 8.31%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that ICL Group will post 0.34 EPS for the current year.

ICL Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.0133 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $0.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. ICL Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in ICL Group by 35.6% during the third 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 period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Pitcairn Co. acquired a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 13.38% of the stock is currently 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.