Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 267,003 shares, a growth of 81.9% from the February 26th total of 146,776 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 274,818 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ESLT shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Elbit Systems from $530.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Elbit Systems in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $531.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Elbit Systems presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.33.

Institutional Trading of Elbit Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Elbit Systems by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 990 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 875.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,615,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

Elbit Systems Price Performance

ESLT traded down $20.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $869.82. 134,867 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 243,897. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $785.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $613.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Elbit Systems has a twelve month low of $354.68 and a twelve month high of $1,016.06. The company has a market cap of $38.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.57, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.22.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The aerospace company reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.33. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Elbit Systems will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. This is a positive change from Elbit Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Elbit Systems’s payout ratio is currently 19.81%.

Elbit Systems Company Profile

Elbit Systems Ltd. is an Israel-based defense electronics company that designs, develops and supplies a broad range of systems for military, homeland security and commercial aviation customers. The company focuses on integrated, platform-level solutions that combine sensors, communications, command-and-control software and weapons integration to support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), force protection and mission management.

Its product and service portfolio spans unmanned aircraft systems, electro-optic and signal intelligence systems, electronic warfare and communications equipment, avionics and mission systems for military and commercial aircraft, and land and naval systems.