Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Short Interest Up 8.4% in December

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 107,000 shares, a growth of 8.4% from the December 15th total of 98,700 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 34,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elbit Systems

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA acquired a new position in Elbit Systems during the third quarter worth about $762,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Elbit Systems by 99.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Elbit Systems by 50.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 10,531 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Elbit Systems by 12.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 170,703 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,158,000 after acquiring an additional 18,614 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Elbit Systems by 12.1% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 74,322 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $14,872,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the period. 17.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Elbit Systems Stock Up 1.3 %

ESLT stock opened at $297.82 on Tuesday. Elbit Systems has a twelve month low of $175.30 and a twelve month high of $298.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.91 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.79.

Elbit Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This is a boost from Elbit Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Elbit Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.38%.

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.