ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The basic materials company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02, Zacks reports. ICL Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 5.83%.

ICL Group Stock Performance

ICL opened at $6.64 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.15. ICL Group has a 52-week low of $3.79 and a 52-week high of $6.95.

ICL Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.0403 dividend. This is an increase from ICL Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. ICL Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ICL. StockNews.com cut ICL Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of ICL Group from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of ICL Group from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of ICL Group by 120.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,153,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,635,000 after buying an additional 2,267,245 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association raised its position in ICL Group by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 26,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 4,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ICL Group during the first quarter worth $107,000. 13.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.