Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) & Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Head to Head Contrast

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) and Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Dividends

Elme Communities pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Independence Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Elme Communities pays out -480.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Independence Realty Trust pays out 566.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Independence Realty Trust has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Elme Communities is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Elme Communities and Independence Realty Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Elme Communities	$241.93 million	6.16	-$13.10 million	($0.15)	-112.63
Independence Realty Trust	$640.03 million	5.98	$39.29 million	$0.12	136.46

Independence Realty Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Elme Communities. Elme Communities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Independence Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Elme Communities and Independence Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Elme Communities	0	4	0	0	2.00
Independence Realty Trust	0	2	5	0	2.71

Elme Communities currently has a consensus target price of $18.50, indicating a potential upside of 9.50%. Independence Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $22.14, indicating a potential upside of 35.22%. Given Independence Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Independence Realty Trust is more favorable than Elme Communities.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.9% of Elme Communities shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.3% of Independence Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Elme Communities shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Independence Realty Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Elme Communities has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Independence Realty Trust has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Elme Communities and Independence Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Elme Communities	-5.78%	-1.33%	-0.78%
Independence Realty Trust	4.31%	0.78%	0.46%

Summary

Independence Realty Trust beats Elme Communities on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. Focused on providing quality, affordable homes to a deep, solid, and underserved base of mid-market demand, Elme Communities is building long-term value for shareholders.

About Independence Realty Trust

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: IRT) is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates multifamily communities, across non-gateway U.S. markets including Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Oklahoma City, OK, Nashville, TN, Houston, TX, and Tampa, FL. IRT’s investment strategy is focused on gaining scale near major employment centers within key amenity rich submarkets that offer good school districts and high-quality retail. IRT aims to provide stockholders attractive risk-adjusted returns through diligent portfolio management, strong operational performance, and a consistent return on capital through distributions and capital appreciation.