Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Short Interest Down 40.0% in August

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 149,669 shares, a drop of 40.0% from the July 30th total of 249,525 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 87,190 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its stake in Elbit Systems by 4.5% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,619,783 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,351,958,000 after buying an additional 69,165 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 1.4% during the fourth 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 2.5% during 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 last quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 397,089 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $332,985,000 after acquiring an additional 32,617 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 370,911 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $189,090,000 after acquiring an additional 33,619 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ESLT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Elbit Systems from $950.00 to $885.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Elbit Systems from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $845.00 price objective on shares of Elbit Systems in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Elbit Systems from $950.00 to $880.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $870.00.

Elbit Systems Stock Down 0.2%

ESLT traded down $1.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $707.58. The company had a trading volume of 34,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,802. The company has a market cap of $31.45 billion, a PE ratio of 53.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $772.40 and a 200-day moving average of $813.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Elbit Systems has a 1-year low of $453.00 and a 1-year high of $1,016.06.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The aerospace company reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 16.66%. As a group, analysts forecast that Elbit Systems will post 15.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Elbit Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. Elbit Systems’s payout ratio is currently 25.02%.

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.