Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Elbit Systems has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from five covering analysts, with an average 12-month target price of $667.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $3.56 versus estimates of $3.23 on revenue of $2.15 billion, and analysts expect full-year EPS of $15.47.
• Elbit Systems also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share from $0.75, lifting the annualized payout to $4.00, though the dividend yield remains modest at 0.5%.

Shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $667.00.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Elbit Systems from $580.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Elbit Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Elbit Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elbit Systems

In other Elbit Systems news, EVP Oren Yaacov Sabag sold 8,504 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Shmuely sold 7,654 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total transaction of $6,792,159.60. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 69,736 shares of company stock worth $61,883,726. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elbit Systems

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESLT. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 18,689 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $15,871,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 883 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 27.7% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 102,740 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $85,619,000 after purchasing an additional 22,315 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Elbit Systems in the first quarter worth $128,135,000. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new position in Elbit Systems in the first quarter worth $2,866,000. 17.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Elbit Systems Price Performance

ESLT opened at $782.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $875.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $685.58. The firm has a market cap of $34.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.86, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.14. Elbit Systems has a 1 year low of $369.60 and a 1 year high of $1,016.06.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The aerospace company reported $3.56 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Elbit Systems will post 15.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Elbit Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 13th. Elbit Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.31%.

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.

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