Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Short Interest Down 22.3% in October

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. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 23,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elbit Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Elbit Systems by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,133 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,314,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares during the period. AM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Elbit Systems in the 3rd quarter worth $200,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Elbit Systems by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,468 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd. lifted its stake in Elbit Systems by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 336,836 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $67,264,000 after purchasing an additional 98,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in Elbit Systems by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Elbit Systems Stock Performance

Shares of ESLT stock traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $228.24. 34,789 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,479. Elbit Systems has a 12 month low of $175.30 and a 12 month high of $230.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $203.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of 41.96 and a beta of 0.53.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Elbit Systems will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Elbit Systems Cuts Dividend

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

Elbit Systems Company Profile

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.