Short Interest in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Decreases By 46.5%

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 103,811 shares, a decline of 46.5% from the May 14th total of 194,138 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 154,389 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Elbit Systems Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:ESLT traded up $5.35 on Tuesday, hitting $820.00. 62,089 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 147,863. The stock has a market cap of $36.45 billion, a PE ratio of 66.40, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $841.59 and a 200-day moving average of $749.43. Elbit Systems has a fifty-two week low of $415.90 and a fifty-two week high of $1,016.06.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The aerospace company reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.98 by $0.89. Elbit Systems had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 7.14%.The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Elbit Systems will post 15.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Elbit Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $950.00 price objective on shares of Elbit Systems in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Elbit Systems from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $742.75.

Insider Activity at Elbit Systems

In other Elbit Systems news, CEO Bezhalel Machlis sold 25,514 shares of Elbit Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total transaction of $22,641,123.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Shmuely sold 7,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total value of $6,792,159.60. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 69,736 shares of company stock valued at $61,883,726 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elbit Systems

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESLT. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 98.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Elbit Systems in the first quarter valued at about $353,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Elbit Systems by 3,461.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Elbit Systems by 33.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 135,106 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $51,837,000 after purchasing an additional 34,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Elbit Systems by 7.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 16,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

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.