Berenberg Bank Issues Positive Forecast for BAE Systems (LON:BA) Stock Price

Key Points

• Berenberg Bank raised its target price for BAE Systems to GBX 2,300 (from GBX 2,000) but kept a "hold" rating, which the report says implies only about a 1.37% upside from the current share price.
• Analysts overall are moderately positive—four Buys and two Holds—giving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of GBX 2,208.
• Insiders have been buying: Ewan Kirk purchased 10,000 shares at GBX 1,678, and insiders acquired a total of 10,015 shares in the last quarter, while insiders now own about 0.14% of the company.

BAE Systems (LON:BA - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Berenberg Bank from GBX 2,000 to GBX 2,300 in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the stock. Berenberg Bank's target price indicates a potential upside of 1.37% from the stock's current price.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of BAE Systems to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from GBX 2,060 to GBX 2,120 in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 2,208.

BAE Systems Stock Performance

BA stock traded up GBX 49 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching GBX 2,269. 6,646,766 shares of the company's stock traded hands. BAE Systems has a 52 week low of GBX 1,012.50 and a 52 week high of GBX 1,415.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 1,973.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 1,877.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 89.65, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of £70.25 billion, a PE ratio of 38.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.33.

BAE Systems (LON:BA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported GBX 75.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. BAE Systems had a return on equity of 18.23% and a net margin of 7.28%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BAE Systems will post 73.537927 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ewan Kirk purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 1,678 per share, with a total value of £167,800. Insiders bought a total of 10,015 shares of company stock worth $16,810,420 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

About BAE Systems

BAE Systems plc provides defense, aerospace, and security solutions worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Electronic Systems, Platforms & Services, Air, Maritime, and Cyber & Intelligence. The Electronic Systems segment offers electronic warfare systems, navigation systems, electro-optical sensors, military and commercial digital engine and flight controls, precision guidance and seeker solutions, military communication systems and data links, persistent surveillance capabilities, space electronics, and electric drive propulsion systems.

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