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

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 1st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 19th will be given a dividend of 0.18 per share on Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend 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% per year over the last three years. Elme Communities has a dividend payout ratio of -1,028.6% meaning 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 Price Performance

Elme Communities stock opened at $18.21 on Tuesday. Elme Communities has a 12 month low of $12.44 and a 12 month high of $18.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of -29.85 and a beta of 0.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ELME has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Elme Communities from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. 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 research 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.