Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 11,581 Shares of Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 438,383 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,581 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Elme Communities worth $7,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ELME. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Elme Communities by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,730,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,421,000 after purchasing an additional 11,015 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elme Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $180,000. Amundi increased its holdings in Elme Communities by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 90,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 26,793 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Elme Communities by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 53,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 16,840 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Elme Communities by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,934,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,545,000 after buying an additional 46,755 shares during the period. 87.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Elme Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELME opened at $16.26 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.97. Elme Communities has a twelve month low of $13.95 and a twelve month high of $18.49. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -108.39 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. Elme Communities had a negative return on equity of 1.30% and a negative net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $61.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Elme Communities’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Elme Communities will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Elme Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. Elme Communities’s payout ratio is presently -480.00%.

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.