ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Shares Break Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

ICL Group Ltd. (NYSE:ICL) shares passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.46 and traded as low as $5.02. ICL Group shares last traded at $5.0350, with a volume of 888,957 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ICL Group in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of ICL Group from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ICL Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.00.

ICL Group Trading Down 2.6%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.49. The company has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. ICL Group had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 8.40%. Research analysts forecast that ICL Group Ltd. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.0581 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from ICL Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0535. This represents a $0.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. ICL Group’s payout ratio is presently 70.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICL Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ICL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 4.7% in the first quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 19,616,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $100,349,000 after buying an additional 877,644 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in ICL Group by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 22,040,479 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $112,812,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502,702 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in ICL Group by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,856,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,615,000 after acquiring an additional 617,801 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in ICL Group by 49.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,115,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,779,000 after purchasing an additional 370,457 shares during the period. Finally, Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD increased its holdings in ICL Group by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD now owns 2,084,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,960,000 after purchasing an additional 502,628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.38% of the company’s stock.

About ICL Group

ICL Group Ltd. (NYSE: ICL) is a global specialty minerals and chemicals company that develops, produces and markets solutions based on potash, phosphate, bromine, magnesium and other mineral resources. The company serves customers in agriculture, food, pharmaceuticals, personal care, industrial manufacturing and other specialty markets.

ICL’s principal activities include the production of potash and phosphate-based fertilizers, specialty phosphate ingredients, flame retardants, bromine compounds, magnesium products, industrial salts and water-treatment solutions.