Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) Upgraded to Buy at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ELME. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Elme Communities in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Elme Communities from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $18.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Elme Communities Stock Performance

NYSE ELME opened at $14.81 on Friday. Elme Communities has a 1-year low of $12.74 and a 1-year high of $18.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.77 and a 200-day moving average of $16.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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

Elme Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 19th. Elme Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently -479.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elme Communities

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Elme Communities by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 26,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Elme Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $377,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Elme Communities by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,234,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,319,000 after purchasing an additional 12,999 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Elme Communities by 9.5% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Elme Communities by 64.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 177,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after buying an additional 69,835 shares during the period. 87.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elme Communities Company Profile

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.