Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Holdings in Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. by 8.1%, owning a total of 14,474 shares valued at approximately $5.53 million.
• Elbit Systems announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.60 to $0.75, representing an annualized dividend of $3.00 and a yield of 0.6%.
• Quarterly earnings for Elbit Systems beat analysts' expectations, reporting an EPS of $3.23 and revenue of $1.97 billion, surpassing estimates of $1.89 billion.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT - Free Report) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,474 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,083 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Elbit Systems were worth $5,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESLT. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Elbit Systems by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $10,010,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Elbit Systems by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,823 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $950,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,471,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Elbit Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $1,999,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $215,000. 17.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Elbit Systems in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Elbit Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Elbit Systems presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $500.00.

Elbit Systems Stock Performance

Elbit Systems stock traded down $21.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $451.67. The stock had a trading volume of 250,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,973. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 52-week low of $188.53 and a 52-week high of $494.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $20.08 billion, a PE ratio of 51.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.33. The firm's fifty day moving average is $448.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $398.19.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The aerospace company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Elbit Systems had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 5.35%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 14th. This is a boost from Elbit Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Elbit Systems's payout ratio is currently 22.70%.

Elbit Systems Profile

Elbit Systems Ltd. develops and supplies a portfolio of airborne, land, and naval systems and products for the defense, homeland security, and commercial aviation applications primarily in Israel. The company operates through Aerospace, C4I and Cyber, ISTAR and EW, Land, and Elbit Systems of America segments.