ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) Short Interest Down 6.3% in August

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during 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. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 735,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

ICL Group Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of ICL opened at $3.84 on Thursday. ICL Group has a fifty-two week low of $3.80 and a fifty-two week high of $5.87. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.62.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. ICL Group had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 8.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that ICL Group will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

ICL Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a $0.037 dividend. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. ICL Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of ICL Group from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchased a new position in shares of ICL Group in the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. Callan Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of ICL Group during the 1st quarter valued at $60,000. Greenleaf Trust purchased a new stake in ICL Group during the 1st quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in ICL Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.