Short Interest in ICL Group Ltd. (NYSE:ICL) Expands By 40.1%

ICL Group Ltd. (NYSE:ICL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,130,000 shares, a growth of 40.1% from the September 30th total of 1,520,000 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 672,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 672,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of ICL Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 23.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,248 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 13.0% during the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,925 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,716 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ICL Group by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 36,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 1,736 shares during the period. Choreo LLC grew its position in shares of ICL Group by 14.7% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 14,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of ICL Group by 4.1% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 47,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares during the last quarter. 13.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ICL Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.57.

ICL Group Price Performance

Shares of ICL traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $6.58. 357,884 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 771,943. The company has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.53. ICL Group has a one year low of $4.11 and a one year high of $7.35.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. ICL Group had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 5.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ICL Group will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

ICL Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a — dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.0426 per share. This represents a yield of 290.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. ICL Group’s payout ratio is 58.62%.

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.