ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $4.98, but opened at $4.86. ICL Group shares last traded at $4.85, with a volume of 89,422 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of ICL Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

ICL Group Stock Down 2.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm's 50 day moving average is $4.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.36.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The basic materials company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. ICL Group had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 8.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ICL Group Ltd will post 0.35 EPS for the current year.

ICL Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th were given a dividend of $0.0133 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $0.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. ICL Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICL Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ICL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in ICL Group by 2,927,153.2% during the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 14,636,266 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $62,766,000 after purchasing an additional 14,635,766 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in ICL Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,967,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in ICL Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,689,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its position in shares of ICL Group by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 44,119,257 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $189,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of ICL Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,316,000. 13.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.