Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 81.9% in March to 267,003 shares (about 0.6% of shares short) with a short-interest ratio of roughly 1.0 days.
• Major institutions have been increasing stakes—VanEck boosted its position to 648,104 shares and Clal to 1,550,618 shares—leaving about 17.88% owned by institutional investors.
• Elbit beat quarterly expectations (EPS $3.56 vs. $3.23), raised its quarterly dividend to $1.00 (annualized $4.00, ~0.4% yield), and trades near $890 with a market cap of roughly $39.6 billion and a P/E around 78.

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 267,003 shares, a growth of 81.9% from the February 26th total of 146,776 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 274,818 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elbit Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 3,162.0% during the 3rd 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. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its stake in Elbit Systems by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,550,618 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $893,941,000 after purchasing an additional 397,049 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Elbit Systems in the third quarter valued at about $172,673,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 134,300 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Elbit Systems by 27.3% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 471,839 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $210,967,000 after purchasing an additional 101,083 shares during the period. 17.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elbit Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ:ESLT opened at $890.22 on Friday. Elbit Systems has a 52 week low of $354.68 and a 52 week high of $1,016.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $782.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $611.28. The firm has a market cap of $39.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.22.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Elbit Systems will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Elbit Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Elbit Systems from $530.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Elbit Systems in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $531.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Elbit Systems currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $550.33.

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.

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