Elme Communities (ELME) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.18 on October 3rd

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 1st, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.18 per share on Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 19th.

Elme Communities has increased its dividend payment by an average of 30.8% annually over the last three years. Elme Communities has a dividend payout ratio of -1,028.6% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research 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 Performance

Shares of ELME opened at $18.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.85 and a beta of 0.90. Elme Communities has a 52-week low of $12.44 and a 52-week high of $18.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ELME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Elme Communities from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Elme Communities from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday.

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.