Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $550.3333.

ESLT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Elbit Systems in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $531.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Elbit Systems from $530.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th.

Elbit Systems Stock Up 1.9%

Elbit Systems stock opened at $911.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Elbit Systems has a twelve month low of $354.68 and a twelve month high of $1,016.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $779.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $609.33.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.33. Elbit Systems had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 6.73%.The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Elbit Systems will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Elbit Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Elbit Systems’s payout ratio is currently 19.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elbit Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESLT. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in shares of Elbit Systems during the third quarter worth about $730,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in Elbit Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $824,000. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Elbit Systems by 11.6% in the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 53,569 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,309,000 after buying an additional 5,550 shares during the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 296.0% in the third quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,553,000 after acquiring an additional 5,210 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 226.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 193,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $87,006,000 after acquiring an additional 134,300 shares during the last quarter. 17.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.