Short Interest in Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) Drops By 7.4%

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,000,000 shares, a decrease of 7.4% from the March 15th total of 1,080,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 688,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Elme Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, December 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elme Communities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in shares of Elme Communities in the first quarter worth $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Elme Communities during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Elme Communities during the first quarter valued at $40,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Elme Communities during the first quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Elme Communities in the first quarter valued at about $91,000. 87.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Elme Communities Trading Down 1.9 %

ELME stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $14.36. The company had a trading volume of 957,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 701,020. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of -23.54 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.77 and a 200 day moving average of $13.87. Elme Communities has a 12 month low of $12.44 and a 12 month high of $18.15.

Elme Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.01%. Elme Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently -118.03%.

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.