StockNews.com Upgrades ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) to “Strong-Buy”

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Separately, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of ICL Group from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th.

ICL Group Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE:ICL traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $4.28. 1,299,050 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 774,672. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.23. ICL Group has a 12-month low of $3.79 and a 12-month high of $5.54. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The basic materials company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. ICL Group had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 8.41%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that ICL Group will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ICL Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of ICL Group by 2,927,153.2% in the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 14,636,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,766,000 after acquiring an additional 14,635,766 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,967,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,689,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 3.2% in the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 44,119,257 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $189,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 2.8% in the second quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 17,215,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $73,813,000 after purchasing an additional 465,031 shares in the last quarter. 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.