Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Purchases New Stake in Elbit Systems Ltd. $ESLT

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV acquired a new position in Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,028 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,722,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,550,618 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $893,941,000 after buying an additional 397,049 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Elbit Systems by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 998,267 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $573,131,000 after buying an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Elbit Systems by 3,162.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 648,104 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $330,404,000 after acquiring an additional 628,236 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in Elbit Systems by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 618,325 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $356,345,000 after acquiring an additional 18,289 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Elbit Systems by 2.5% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 483,842 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $246,121,000 after acquiring an additional 12,003 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 17.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ESLT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Elbit Systems from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $950.00 price target on shares of Elbit Systems in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Elbit Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $742.75.

Elbit Systems Stock Down 1.7%

ESLT stock opened at $774.62 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Elbit Systems Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $415.90 and a fifty-two week high of $1,016.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $829.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $761.15. The stock has a market cap of $34.43 billion, a PE ratio of 62.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.14.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The aerospace company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by $0.89. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 16.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Elbit Systems Ltd. will post 15.23 EPS for the current year.

Elbit Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. Elbit Systems’s payout ratio is 26.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elbit Systems

In other news, EVP Oren Yaacov Sabag sold 8,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total transaction of $7,546,449.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Ariel sold 7,654 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $887.40, for a total value of $6,792,159.60. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,736 shares of company stock valued at $61,883,726. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Elbit Systems Company Profile

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.