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

ICL Group Ltd. (NYSE:ICL)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $5.62, but opened at $6.15. ICL Group shares last traded at $5.9950, with a volume of 983,389 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ICL. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ICL Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ICL Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.10.

ICL Group Trading Up 7.0%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.46. The stock has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.38 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. ICL Group had a net margin of 3.16% and a return on equity of 7.44%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ICL Group Ltd. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

ICL Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $0.0465 dividend. This represents a $0.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. ICL Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Institutional Trading of ICL Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ICL. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ICL Group by 351.2% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 4,014 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in ICL Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 13.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ICL Group

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.