Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $667.00.

ESLT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Elbit Systems from $580.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th.

Elbit Systems Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:ESLT opened at $782.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.86, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.14. 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 one year low of $369.60 and a one year high of $1,016.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $875.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $685.58.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The aerospace company reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.33. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Elbit Systems will post 15.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Elbit Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 13th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Elbit Systems’s payout ratio is currently 29.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Oren Yaacov Sabag sold 8,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total value of $7,546,449.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Haim Daniel Delmar sold 7,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total transaction of $6,792,159.60. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 69,736 shares of company stock valued at $61,883,726. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its position in Elbit Systems by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,550,618 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $893,941,000 after buying an additional 397,049 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Elbit Systems by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 998,267 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $573,131,000 after acquiring an additional 13,406 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 3,162.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 648,104 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $330,404,000 after acquiring an additional 628,236 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 618,325 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $356,345,000 after acquiring an additional 18,289 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 2.5% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 483,842 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $246,121,000 after acquiring an additional 12,003 shares during the period. 17.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.