ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upgraded ICL Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $4.00 to $6.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of ICL Group from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday.

ICL Group Price Performance

ICL opened at $6.02 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.56 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 $6.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.80. The stock has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.23.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. ICL Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 5.83%. On average, research analysts expect that ICL Group will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICL Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in ICL Group by 754.0% in the 4th 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 period. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in ICL Group by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,380 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 2,985 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in ICL Group by 223.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 10,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 7,405 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in ICL Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. 13.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.