Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Short Interest Update

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

Institutional Trading of Elbit Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESLT. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Elbit Systems by 57.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,007 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,356,000 after buying an additional 5,846 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 53.7% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,626 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,234,000 after buying an additional 3,712 shares during the period. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA purchased a new stake in Elbit Systems in the third quarter worth $762,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Elbit Systems in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,893,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Elbit Systems by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 818,862 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $174,622,000 after purchasing an additional 9,525 shares in the last quarter. 17.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Elbit Systems Trading Up 7.9 %

Elbit Systems stock traded up $16.64 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $226.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 78,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,327. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $202.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.89. Elbit Systems has a 12 month low of $175.30 and a 12 month high of $229.70. The stock has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.72 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The aerospace company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 10.70%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Elbit Systems will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Elbit Systems Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Elbit Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded 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.