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

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.57, but opened at $6.99. ICL Group shares last traded at $6.98, with a volume of 227,004 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ICL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered ICL Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their target price on ICL Group from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on ICL Group from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

ICL Group Stock Down 0.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.13. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $6.47 and a 200 day moving average of $5.86.

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

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. This is an increase from ICL Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. ICL Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.61%.

Institutional Trading of ICL Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ICL. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,273 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in ICL Group by 754.0% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 7,447 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 6,575 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in ICL Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in ICL Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory bought a new stake in ICL Group during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Institutional investors own 13.38% of the company's stock.

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.