Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Stake in Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its position in Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) by 42.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,296 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66,495 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.10% of Elme Communities worth $1,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ELME. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Elme Communities by 50.8% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 169,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,979,000 after purchasing an additional 57,038 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Elme Communities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $596,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Elme Communities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $541,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Elme Communities by 64.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 177,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 69,835 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Elme Communities by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,234,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,319,000 after acquiring an additional 12,999 shares during the last quarter. 87.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ELME shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Elme Communities from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial upgraded Elme Communities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Elme Communities from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $18.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Elme Communities Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE ELME opened at $15.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of -114.02 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Elme Communities has a 12-month low of $14.20 and a 12-month high of $18.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.42.

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.26. Elme Communities had a negative return on equity of 1.18% and a negative net margin of 5.42%. As a group, analysts expect that Elme Communities will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elme Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 19th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. Elme Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -514.29%.

Elme Communities 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.