Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) saw a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,700,000 shares, an increase of 70.0% from the March 31st total of 1,000,000 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 735,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elme Communities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Elme Communities by 263.9% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 61,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 44,895 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Elme Communities by 22.4% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 17,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 3,195 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Elme Communities by 25.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 39,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,960 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Elme Communities by 16.4% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 22,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Elme Communities by 1.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,142,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,226,000 after purchasing an additional 34,624 shares in the last quarter. 87.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Elme Communities Stock Performance

Shares of Elme Communities stock opened at $15.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.66 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.94. Elme Communities has a fifty-two week low of $12.44 and a fifty-two week high of $17.87.

Elme Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. Elme Communities’s payout ratio is presently -118.03%.

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.