Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) Short Interest Update

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, an increase of 18.7% from the September 30th total of 1,390,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 468,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Elme Communities Price Performance

Shares of ELME stock traded up $0.12 on Wednesday, reaching $17.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 302,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 581,937. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.82 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.38. Elme Communities has a 1 year low of $12.44 and a 1 year high of $18.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Elme Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. Elme Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently -116.13%.

Institutional Trading of Elme Communities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ELME. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Elme Communities by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Elme Communities by 1.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,186,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,434,000 after purchasing an additional 28,717 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Elme Communities by 7.1% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 28,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,909 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of Elme Communities by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 76,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Elme Communities during the first quarter worth $1,770,000. 87.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ELME shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Elme Communities from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Elme Communities from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Elme Communities in a report on Monday, October 21st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company.

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.