ICL Group Ltd. (NYSE:ICL) Short Interest Update

ICL Group Ltd. (NYSE:ICL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,056,872 shares, a growth of 43.3% from the February 26th total of 2,133,195 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,293,955 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days.

ICL Group Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of ICL traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5.20. The company had a trading volume of 3,039,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,180,846. ICL Group has a 1-year low of $4.76 and a 1-year high of $7.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.63. The stock has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of 30.56 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that ICL Group will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

ICL Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $0.0465 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. ICL Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ICL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ICL Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ICL Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, ICL Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.10.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICL Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ICL Group in the 1st quarter valued at $107,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in ICL Group by 120.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,153,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,635,000 after purchasing an additional 2,267,245 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association boosted its position in ICL Group by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 26,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 4,438 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in ICL Group by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 32,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 5,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in ICL Group by 2,055.0% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 4,310 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares in the last quarter. 13.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.