Short Interest in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Grows By 15.1%

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 54,900 shares, an increase of 15.1% from the October 15th total of 47,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 24,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Elbit Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 368.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 164 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Elbit Systems in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Elbit Systems during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Elbit Systems in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 56.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 232 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

Elbit Systems Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ESLT traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $236.88. 14,631 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,530. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.54 and a beta of 0.51. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $211.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.04. Elbit Systems has a 1 year low of $175.30 and a 1 year high of $241.30.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The aerospace company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Elbit Systems had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 3.85%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Elbit Systems will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

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.