ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $4.15, but opened at $4.42. ICL Group shares last traded at $4.45, with a volume of 239,346 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ICL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on ICL Group from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of ICL Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th.

ICL Group Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 1.23.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.01. ICL Group had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that ICL Group Ltd will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ICL Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.037 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. ICL Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICL Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ICL Group during the third quarter valued at $6,689,000. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in ICL Group by 18.0% in the third quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 19,726 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 3,010 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in ICL Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $11,967,000. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in ICL Group in the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Greenleaf Trust acquired a new position in shares of ICL Group during the 3rd quarter worth $135,000. 13.38% of the stock is 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.