Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $550.3333.

ESLT has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Zacks Research cut Elbit Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Elbit Systems in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $531.00 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESLT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Elbit Systems by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 998,267 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $573,131,000 after purchasing an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Elbit Systems by 3,162.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 648,104 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $330,404,000 after purchasing an additional 628,236 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 618,325 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $356,345,000 after buying an additional 18,289 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 483,842 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $246,121,000 after buying an additional 12,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. grew its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 378,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $168,600,000 after buying an additional 82,103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

Elbit Systems Price Performance

Shares of ESLT opened at $721.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.35, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.22. Elbit Systems has a fifty-two week low of $294.99 and a fifty-two week high of $740.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $590.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $517.86.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 15.04%. On average, research analysts forecast that Elbit Systems will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Elbit Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.87%.

About Elbit Systems

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.