BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Stock Price

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) had its target price raised by BMO Capital Markets from $6.00 to $6.50 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded ICL Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays upgraded shares of ICL Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $4.00 to $6.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st.

ICL Group Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE:ICL opened at $6.15 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.23. ICL Group has a 52 week low of $3.79 and a 52 week high of $6.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.79.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.08. ICL Group had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. On average, analysts predict that ICL Group will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.0403 per share. This is an increase from ICL Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. ICL Group’s dividend payout ratio is 40.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in ICL Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,898,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $132,850,000 after buying an additional 626,553 shares in the last quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 20,551,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $101,391,000 after buying an additional 3,606,357 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in ICL Group by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 16,479,059 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $81,334,000 after buying an additional 2,161,715 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of ICL Group by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,362,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,336,000 after buying an additional 219,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD increased its position in shares of ICL Group by 106.0% in the fourth quarter. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD now owns 4,579,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,324 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.38% of the company’s stock.

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.