JPMorgan Chase & Co. Downgrades Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) to Neutral

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME - Free Report) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $18.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $19.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Elme Communities in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Elme Communities from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th.

Elme Communities Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE:ELME traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.90. 863,766 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 581,771. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -105.99 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 50 day simple moving average of $16.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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

Elme Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. Elme Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -479.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELME. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Elme Communities by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,036,308 shares of the company's stock worth $16,508,000 after purchasing an additional 69,014 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Elme Communities in the third quarter worth about $975,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Elme Communities by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,719,212 shares of the company's stock worth $30,241,000 after buying an additional 53,505 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Elme Communities by 466.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 654,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,511,000 after buying an additional 538,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Elme Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $306,000. 87.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.