Short Interest in ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) Declines By 6.3%

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,190,000 shares, a decline of 6.3% from the August 15th total of 1,270,000 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 735,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

ICL Group Stock Performance

Shares of ICL stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $3.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 900,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,084. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.28 and a 200 day moving average of $4.61. ICL Group has a 12-month low of $3.80 and a 12-month high of $5.87. The stock has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.23.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. ICL Group had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 6.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ICL Group will post 0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ICL Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.037 per share. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. ICL Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ICL Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ICL. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in ICL Group by 103.8% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 7,093 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,612 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ICL Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. Callan Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of ICL Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Greenleaf Trust acquired a new stake in ICL Group in the 1st quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in ICL Group in the 2nd quarter worth $56,000. 13.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barclays cut their price objective on ICL Group from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th.

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.