Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $589.00 and last traded at $584.1350, with a volume of 20514 shares. The stock had previously closed at $577.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ESLT shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Elbit Systems in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Elbit Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Elbit Systems from $530.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Elbit Systems in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $531.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Elbit Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.33.

Elbit Systems Trading Up 2.5%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $505.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $483.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $26.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.22.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.60. Elbit Systems had a return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 5.91%.The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. Research analysts expect that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Elbit Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Elbit Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elbit Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESLT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 226.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 193,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $87,006,000 after purchasing an additional 134,300 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Elbit Systems by 12.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,332 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,202,000 after buying an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,082,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 337,292 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $151,613,000 after buying an additional 8,310 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 67.3% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 16,182 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,274,000 after acquiring an additional 6,511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

About Elbit Systems

Elbit Systems Ltd. is an Israel-based defense electronics company that designs, develops and supplies a broad range of systems for military, homeland security and commercial aviation customers. The company focuses on integrated, platform-level solutions that combine sensors, communications, command-and-control software and weapons integration to support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), force protection and mission management.

Its product and service portfolio spans unmanned aircraft systems, electro-optic and signal intelligence systems, electronic warfare and communications equipment, avionics and mission systems for military and commercial aircraft, and land and naval systems.