Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.18

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 19th will be given a dividend of 0.18 per share on Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 19th.

Elme Communities has increased its dividend by an average of 154.1% annually over the last three years. Elme Communities has a payout ratio of -720.0% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Elme Communities to earn $0.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 76.6%.

Elme Communities Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ELME traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.17. 264,180 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 562,659. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of -114.70 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $15.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.48. Elme Communities has a twelve month low of $12.74 and a twelve month high of $18.49.

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.26. Elme Communities had a negative net margin of 5.51% and a negative return on equity of 1.17%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Elme Communities will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on ELME shares. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Elme Communities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Elme Communities in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Elme Communities from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

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.