Wall Street Zen Upgrades Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded Elbit Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a recent report.
• Bank of America has also raised its target price for Elbit Systems shares from $500.00 to $540.00, maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Elbit Systems reported earnings of $3.23 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.57, with revenue reaching $1.97 billion for the quarter.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

Separately, Bank of America raised their price target on Elbit Systems from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Elbit Systems currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.00.

Elbit Systems Trading Up 0.2%

ESLT traded up $1.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $476.77. The company had a trading volume of 63,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 107,057. The stock has a market cap of $21.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.12, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $454.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $409.95. Elbit Systems has a 52 week low of $188.53 and a 52 week high of $499.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The aerospace company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.66. The company 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 last year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Elbit Systems will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Elbit Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 14th. Elbit Systems's dividend payout ratio is 22.70%.

Institutional Trading of Elbit Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 232.6% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 153 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the second quarter valued at about $68,000. 17.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Elbit Systems Company 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.