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

Shares of ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.45, but opened at $6.16. ICL Group shares last traded at $6.06, with a volume of 3,244,480 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on ICL shares. Barclays raised ICL Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $4.00 to $6.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ICL Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on ICL Group from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday.

ICL Group Trading Down 2.2 %

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $5.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.81. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.23.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08. ICL Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 5.83%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Equities analysts forecast that ICL Group Ltd will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.0403 per share. This is a positive change 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 2.68%. ICL Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.63%.

Institutional Trading of ICL Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meitav Investment House Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 20,551,025 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $101,391,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,357 shares in the last quarter. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD boosted its position in ICL Group by 106.0% in the 4th quarter. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD now owns 4,579,516 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $22,584,000 after buying an additional 2,356,324 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of ICL Group by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 16,479,059 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $81,334,000 after acquiring an additional 2,161,715 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ICL Group during the third quarter worth $6,689,000. Finally, Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD raised its stake in shares of ICL Group by 101.6% in the fourth quarter. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD now owns 1,582,283 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,803,000 after acquiring an additional 797,450 shares in the last quarter. 13.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ICL Group Company Profile

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.