Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Announces $0.50 Quarterly Dividend

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 27th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share by the aerospace company on Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd.

Elbit Systems has increased its dividend by an average of 6.2% per year over the last three years. Elbit Systems has a payout ratio of 30.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Elbit Systems to earn $6.60 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.3%.

Elbit Systems Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of Elbit Systems stock traded up $6.58 on Wednesday, reaching $211.15. The company had a trading volume of 68,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,016. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $208.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.58. Elbit Systems has a 1 year low of $166.35 and a 1 year high of $225.64. The firm has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The aerospace company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 10.53%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Elbit Systems will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elbit Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESLT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Elbit Systems by 10.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 54,176 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,943,000 after buying an additional 5,319 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Elbit Systems by 3.2% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,708 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Elbit Systems by 55.4% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 16,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,671,000 after purchasing an additional 5,970 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Elbit Systems by 3.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Elbit Systems by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 60,140 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,258,000 after purchasing an additional 5,468 shares during the period. 17.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Elbit Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st.

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.