Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) Plans $0.18 Quarterly Dividend

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 2nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders 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 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 19th.

Elme Communities has increased its dividend by an average of 30.8% annually over the last three years. Elme Communities has a 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 $0.92 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 78.3%.

Elme Communities Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE ELME traded up $0.24 on Friday, reaching $16.94. The company had a trading volume of 829,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 636,710. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.89 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $15.75 and its 200 day moving average is $14.86. Elme Communities has a 52-week low of $12.44 and a 52-week high of $17.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Elme Communities from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th.

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.