BAE Systems Share Price: Live Chart, Forecast & Analysis

If you’ve been checking BAE Systems analyst ratings, you’re probably noticing something odd: different platforms are telling slightly different stories. That gap matters if you’re deciding whether to buy, hold, or sell.

Current Open Price: 2,017.50 GBX ·
Previous Close: 2,020.50 GBX (23 April 2026) ·
Volume: 720,296 ·
Turnover: £6,943,809.40 ·
Sell Price: 2,004.50p

The table below summarizes key trading data for BAE Systems on the London Stock Exchange.

Is BAE Systems a buy, sell, or hold?

The short answer depends on which platform you check. Analysts are generally bullish — but the strength of that bullishness varies more than you might expect.

Analyst ratings

MarketBeat calculates its consensus from Wall Street analysts covering the past 12 months, arriving at a Moderate Buy rating based on 5 analysts: 4 Buy and 1 Hold, with zero Sell ratings (MarketBeat analyst consensus data). TipRanks draws from 8 analysts over the past 3 months and shows a similar Moderate Buy signal: 5 Buy, 2 Hold, 1 Sell (TipRanks recent ratings).

Investors Chronicle, which covers 18 analysts, tells a more granular story: 4 Buy, 8 Outperform, 7 Hold, and 3 Sell — with no Strong Sell ratings reported as of 26-Mar-26 (Investors Chronicle financial publication). Marketscreener aggregates 18 analysts with a Mean consensus of OUTPERFORM (higher than the Moderate Buy label elsewhere) (MarketScreener analyst aggregator).

Recent performance factors

Recent analyst updates show momentum shifting upward. UBS analyst Ian Douglas-Pennant reiterated a Buy rating with a GBP 25.00 price target (TipRanks analyst data). Citi’s Charles Armitage raised his target to GBP 21.92 from 21.45, maintaining his Buy rating (TipRanks). Bernstein SocGen Group analyst Douglas S. Harned moved his target sharply higher to GBP 18.90 from 15.50, assigning an Outperform rating (TipRanks).

Berenberg’s George McWhirter took a more cautious stance — he raised his target to GBP 18.50 from 17.70 but maintained a Hold rating (TipRanks). That divergence between a Buy at GBP 25 and a Hold at GBP 18.50 tells you something about the range of views.

“Consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should ‘moderate buy’ BA shares.” — MarketBeat

BAE Systems (BAES) Share Price Forecast & Price Target

Here’s where the numbers start to look contradictory — and it pays to know which platform is calculating what.

Short-term targets

MarketBeat puts the average price target at GBX 1,976.75, with a high of GBX 2,220 and a low of GBX 1,725 — implying 6.19% upside from the reference price of GBX 1,861.50 (MarketBeat). TipRanks reports a higher average target of 2,051.84p with a high of 2,500.00p and a low of 1,540.00p — suggesting 11.73% upside from 1,836.5p (TipRanks).

Investors Chronicle, whose data is dated 26-Mar-26, shows the widest spread: median target of 2,308.50p, high of 2,662.00p, low of 1,700.00p — representing 8.28% upside from 2,132.00p (Investors Chronicle). MarketScreener reports a mean consensus of OUTPERFORM with average target of 20.75GBP (up from 19.81GBP), high of 25.00GBP, and low of 13.00GBP — roughly 4.74% upside (MarketScreener).

Long-term projections

For the US ADR (BAESY on OTC markets), Zacks tracks a single analyst with a target of $123.40 — representing 17.45% upside from $105.07 (Zacks investment research). Zacks also calculates an Average Broker Recommendation (ABR) of 1.67 on a scale from 1 (Strong Buy) to 5 (Strong Sell), with 6 Strong Buy recommendations out of 9 total (Zacks).

The ABR improved from 2.00 to 1.67 month-over-month, suggesting analyst conviction is strengthening for the US-listed shares (Zacks). Zacks estimates annualized returns for Strong Buy recommendations at 23.62% (Zacks).

“BAE Systems has 11.73% upside potential, based on the analysts’ average price target.” — TipRanks

Is BAE a good long-term investment?

The analyst consensus leans positive — but “lean” is the operative word. Here’s what the data actually tells you.

Growth drivers

Several factors appear to be supporting analyst optimism. The aerospace and defense sector has seen increased spending pressures in European markets, and BAE Systems sits at the intersection of several government procurement cycles. Multiple analysts have raised their price targets in recent months — Armitage at Citi, Harned at Bernstein SocGen, and McWhirter at Berenberg all moved targets higher (TipRanks).

The balance of analyst recommendations skews heavily toward Buy or Outperform — Investors Chronicle shows 12 Buy/Outperform calls against 3 Sell and 7 Hold (Investors Chronicle). The ABR improvement at Zacks from 2.00 to 1.67 suggests recent updates have been positive (Zacks).

Risks

The wide spread in price targets — from 1,540p to 2,662p — indicates genuine disagreement about BAE’s trajectory (TipRanks). Three analysts at Investors Chronicle recommend selling, and Berenberg’s McWhirter holds with a lower target than the UBS analyst (Investors Chronicle).

There are no Tier 1 regulatory sources confirming analyst ratings — all data comes from aggregators and financial publications (TipRanks). Current price references vary across sources (GBX 1,861.50 versus 2,132.00p at Investors Chronicle), which means some targets are calculated from outdated baselines (MarketBeat).

“The median estimate represents a 8.28% increase from the last price of 2,132.00.” — Investors Chronicle

What this means: the upside case is plausible, but the analyst consensus doesn’t amount to a clear mandate. Long-term investors should weigh the defense sector’s cyclicality against BAE’s contract backlog.

Do BAE shares pay a dividend?

While the full dividend history falls outside this article’s focus, investor resources from LSE-listed companies typically include dividend schedules, payment dates, and yield calculations. For BAE Systems specifically, dividend information is available through the company’s investor relations portal on the London Stock Exchange. Shareholders can access historical dividend payments, scrip dividend options, and reinvestment scheme details through standard broker platforms or the LSE website.

Dividend history

BAE Systems has historically maintained a progressive dividend policy, with regular interim and final dividend payments tied to underlying earnings performance. The company’s dividend yield typically reflects its status as a mature defense contractor with predictable cash generation from government contracts.

Yield details

For current yield figures, check the investor relations section of BAE Systems’ corporate website or broker platforms that display real-time dividend data alongside share price information.

Who is the largest shareholder of BAE Systems?

Institutional ownership data for BAE Systems is available through major financial data platforms, including MarketScreener, which tracks major holders alongside consensus ratings and price targets (MarketScreener).

Major holders

Large-cap UK defense stocks typically feature significant institutional ownership from pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and active fund managers focused on value or dividends. The shareholder register is publicly available through the LSE or the company’s registrar.

Ownership breakdown

For the most current breakdown of institutional versus retail ownership, fund manager positions, and any significant changes to the register, consult the latest annual report or interim statements published by BAE Systems, or check financial data aggregators that track ownership changes over time.

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