Elme Communities (ELME) Competitors

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

Does the media prefer AVB or ELME?

In the previous week, AvalonBay Communities had 10 more articles in the media than Elme Communities. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for AvalonBay Communities and 2 mentions for Elme Communities. Elme Communities' average media sentiment score of 1.65 beat AvalonBay Communities' score of 1.13 indicating that Elme Communities is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AvalonBay Communities	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Elme Communities	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, AVB or ELME?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AvalonBay Communities	$2.91B	9.86	$1.08B	$8.03	25.13
Elme Communities	$241.93M	5.80	-$13.10M	-$0.15	-106.17

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in AVB or ELME?

92.6% of AvalonBay Communities shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.9% of Elme Communities shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of AvalonBay Communities shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Elme Communities shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts rate AVB or ELME?

AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus target price of $235.07, indicating a potential upside of 16.49%. Elme Communities has a consensus target price of $18.50, indicating a potential upside of 16.17%. Given AvalonBay Communities' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AvalonBay Communities is more favorable than Elme Communities.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AvalonBay Communities	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.47
Elme Communities	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Is AVB or ELME more profitable?

AvalonBay Communities has a net margin of 38.86% compared to Elme Communities' net margin of -5.79%. AvalonBay Communities' return on equity of 9.65% beat Elme Communities' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AvalonBay Communities	38.86%	9.65%	5.42%
Elme Communities	-5.79%	-1.30%	-0.77%

Which has more risk and volatility, AVB or ELME?

AvalonBay Communities has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Elme Communities has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is AVB or ELME a better dividend stock?

AvalonBay Communities pays an annual dividend of $7.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Elme Communities pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. AvalonBay Communities pays out 87.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Elme Communities pays out -480.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AvalonBay Communities has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Elme Communities is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

AvalonBay Communities beats Elme Communities on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.