ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. Approximately 846,254 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 764,569 shares.The stock last traded at $4.42 and had previously closed at $4.14.

The basic materials company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.03. ICL Group had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 5.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share.

ICL Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.0133 dividend. This represents a $0.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. ICL Group’s payout ratio is 48.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ICL. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of ICL Group from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com upgraded ICL Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,286,822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $136,043,000 after buying an additional 392,805 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,689,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in shares of ICL Group by 2,927,153.2% during the second 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 purchasing an additional 14,635,766 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in ICL Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $11,967,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in ICL Group by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 21,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 4,162 shares during the last quarter. 13.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ICL Group Trading Down 2.6 %

The company has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s fifty day moving average is $4.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.62.

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.