ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Sunday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ICL Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays decreased their price objective on ICL Group from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, ICL Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.23.

ICL Group Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:ICL opened at $5.27 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $5.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.82. ICL Group has a 1 year low of $4.85 and a 1 year high of $7.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09. ICL Group had a net margin of 3.16% and a return on equity of 7.44%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. Research analysts anticipate that ICL Group will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICL Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ICL Group in the third quarter valued at $1,180,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in ICL Group by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,480,755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,966,000 after acquiring an additional 308,077 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in ICL Group by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,709,301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,760,000 after acquiring an additional 82,436 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in ICL Group by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,792,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,006,000 after acquiring an additional 356,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in ICL Group by 34.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,008,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,693,000 after purchasing an additional 2,563,805 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.38% of the company’s stock.

About ICL Group

ICL Group is a global specialty minerals and chemicals company headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. Established in its current form through the consolidation of Israeli government–owned chemical operations, ICL has evolved into a publicly traded entity on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ICL). The company’s origins date back to state-driven mineral extraction in the Negev and the Dead Sea region, and over the decades it has grown through strategic acquisitions, technological innovation and a gradual privatization process completed in the early 2010s.

ICL’s core operations are organized into three principal business areas.