Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases New Position in Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP has acquired a new stake in Elbit Systems Ltd., purchasing 2,069 shares valued at approximately $794,000 during the first quarter.
• Elbit Systems reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.57 and signaling strong financial performance.
• The company will increase its quarterly dividend to $0.75 per share, up from $0.60, reflecting an annual yield of 0.7%.

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,069 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $794,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 232.6% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 153 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the 4th quarter worth $73,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 393 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the 1st quarter worth $155,000. 17.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elbit Systems Price Performance

Shares of ESLT traded down $1.35 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $485.08. 120,273 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 107,550. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $451.33 and a 200-day moving average of $404.19. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a 52 week low of $188.53 and a 52 week high of $499.00. The stock has a market cap of $21.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.06, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.29.

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

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 14th. This is a positive change from Elbit Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Elbit Systems's payout ratio is 22.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ESLT shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Elbit Systems from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $540.00.

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.