ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $7.04 and last traded at $6.98, with a volume of 1926050 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ICL. Wall Street Zen lowered ICL Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on ICL Group from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on ICL Group from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

ICL Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.15. The business's 50 day moving average is $6.45 and its 200 day moving average is $5.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. ICL Group had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 8.31%. On average, equities research analysts predict that ICL Group Ltd will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.0426 dividend. This is a positive change from ICL Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. ICL Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ICL. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in ICL Group by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,925 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,716 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ICL Group by 4.1% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 47,719 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 5.4% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 36,683 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in ICL Group by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,273 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in ICL Group by 8.2% in the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 25,717 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,952 shares in the last quarter. 13.38% of the stock is currently owned by 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.