Elbit Systems Ltd. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.75 (NASDAQ:ESLT)

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.75 per share by the aerospace company on Monday, January 5th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd.

Elbit Systems has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Elbit Systems has a payout ratio of 17.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Elbit Systems to earn $8.85 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.25 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.4%.

Elbit Systems Stock Performance

Shares of ESLT stock opened at $554.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $24.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $488.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $472.72. Elbit Systems has a one year low of $255.01 and a one year high of $557.11.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.60. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 15.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Elbit Systems will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Elbit Systems in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $531.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research cut Elbit Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a research report on Monday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Elbit Systems from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Elbit Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elbit Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.33.

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.