ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,590,000 shares, a drop of 22.8% from the December 15th total of 2,060,000 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 797,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ICL. Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in ICL Group during the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. Ignite Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of ICL Group by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 157,515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of ICL Group by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 18,458 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 2,872 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in ICL Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in ICL Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $296,000. Institutional investors own 13.38% of the company’s stock.

ICL Group Price Performance

Shares of ICL Group stock opened at $5.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.22. 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 has a 12 month low of $3.79 and a 12 month high of $5.79. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $4.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.43.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The basic materials company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.03. ICL Group had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that ICL Group will post 0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ICL Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were given a $0.0133 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $0.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. ICL Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of ICL Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

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.