Wall Street Zen Upgrades ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) to “Buy”

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on ICL Group from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ICL Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.23.

ICL Group Trading Down 0.1%

ICL Group stock opened at $5.73 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.86. ICL Group has a 12 month low of $4.85 and a 12 month high of $7.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.01. ICL Group had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 5.23%.The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that ICL Group will post 0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICL Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of ICL Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,066,383 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $167,132,000 after acquiring an additional 382,780 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in ICL Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,297,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its stake in ICL Group by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 19,537,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $112,054,000 after purchasing an additional 5,805,699 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in ICL Group by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 18,738,939 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $107,498,000 after purchasing an additional 979,321 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of ICL Group by 34.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,008,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,693,000 after purchasing an additional 2,563,805 shares in the last quarter. 13.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.