Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 55,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $975,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Elme Communities by 162.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp lifted its stake in shares of Elme Communities by 308.2% during the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Elme Communities by 438.1% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,494 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Elme Communities by 149.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Elme Communities by 35.0% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the period. 87.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ELME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Elme Communities from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Elme Communities from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Elme Communities in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company.

Elme Communities Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Elme Communities stock opened at $16.95 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.60. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -112.99 and a beta of 0.89. Elme Communities has a fifty-two week low of $12.74 and a fifty-two week high of $18.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $61.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.31 million. Elme Communities had a negative return on equity of 1.17% and a negative net margin of 5.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Elme Communities will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elme Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. Elme Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently -479.97%.

About Elme Communities

Elme Communities is committed to elevating what home can be for middle-income renters by providing a higher level of quality, service, and experience. The Company is a multifamily real estate investment trust that owns and operates approximately 9,400 apartment homes in the Washington, DC metro and the Atlanta metro regions, and owns approximately 300,000 square feet of commercial space.