Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 47,700 shares, a decline of 22.3% from the September 30th total of 61,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 23,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESLT. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Elbit Systems by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,452 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 2.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Elbit Systems by 0.8% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 8,839 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in Elbit Systems by 56.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 232 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Elbit Systems by 8.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 17.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elbit Systems Stock Up 0.3 %

ESLT traded up $0.73 on Wednesday, reaching $228.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 33,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,472. Elbit Systems has a fifty-two week low of $175.30 and a fifty-two week high of $230.64. The company has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.91 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $202.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.11.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The aerospace company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.31. Elbit Systems had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Elbit Systems will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elbit Systems Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Elbit Systems’s payout ratio is 30.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Elbit Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

About Elbit Systems

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.