Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $15.49, but opened at $17.30. Elme Communities shares last traded at $17.26, with a volume of 627,605 shares.

The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.26. Elme Communities had a negative return on equity of 1.17% and a negative net margin of 5.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Elme Communities in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Elme Communities from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $19.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Elme Communities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th.

Institutional Trading of Elme Communities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Elme Communities by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC increased its position in Elme Communities by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 23,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Elme Communities by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Elme Communities by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 127,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,239,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Elme Communities by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.88% of the company’s stock.

Elme Communities Trading Up 10.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of -114.09 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.26 and a 200 day moving average of $16.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55.

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.