BAE Systems plc (LON:BA) Insider Buys £153.09 in Stock

BAE Systems plc (LON:BA) insider Charles Woodburn purchased 9 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 1,701 ($22.60) per share, with a total value of £153.09 ($203.36).

Charles Woodburn also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, April 14th, Charles Woodburn purchased 9 shares of BAE Systems stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 1,693 ($22.49) per share, with a total value of £152.37 ($202.40).
• On Friday, March 28th, Charles Woodburn sold 877,344 shares of BAE Systems stock. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,565 ($20.79), for a total transaction of £13,730,433.60 ($18,239,151.97).
• On Friday, March 14th, Charles Woodburn purchased 9 shares of BAE Systems stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 1,127 ($14.97) per share, with a total value of £101.43 ($134.74).

BAE Systems Price Performance

Shares of LON:BA opened at GBX 1,755 ($23.31) on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is GBX 1,651.30 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 1,398.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 94.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of £54.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.33. BAE Systems plc has a fifty-two week low of GBX 1,012.50 ($13.45) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 1,415.25 ($18.80).

BAE Systems (LON:BA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported GBX 68.50 ($0.91) EPS for the quarter. BAE Systems had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 16.87%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BAE Systems plc will post 73.537927 earnings per share for the current year.

BAE Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of GBX 20.60 ($0.27) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from BAE Systems’s previous dividend of $12.40. This represents a yield of 1.24%. BAE Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 53.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of BAE Systems from GBX 1,630 ($21.65) to GBX 1,725 ($22.91) and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of BAE Systems from GBX 1,510 ($20.06) to GBX 1,900 ($25.24) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 1,440 ($19.13) target price on shares of BAE Systems in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 1,626.25 ($21.60).

About BAE Systems

BAE Systems plc provides defense, aerospace, and security solutions worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Electronic Systems, Platforms & Services, Air, Maritime, and Cyber & Intelligence. The Electronic Systems segment offers electronic warfare systems, navigation systems, electro-optical sensors, military and commercial digital engine and flight controls, precision guidance and seeker solutions, military communication systems and data links, persistent surveillance capabilities, space electronics, and electric drive propulsion systems.