Elme Communities (ELME) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $191.04M
• Dividend Yield: 4.14%
• Average Volume (3M): 1.69M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): ―
• Beta (1Y): 0.27
• Revenue Growth: 3.10%
• EPS Growth: -900.13%
• Country: US
• Employees: 255
• Sector: Real Estate
• Sector Strength: 53
• Industry: REIT - Office
• EPS (TTM): N/A
• Shares Outstanding: 88,857,880
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 1,785,568
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 1,685,824
• PEG Ratio: >-0.01
• Price to Book (P/B): 6.42
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.00
• P/FCF Ratio: 24.63
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: -5.97
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 14.90
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 25.91
• 1Y Price Target: N/A
• Price Target Upside: N/A
• Rating Consensus: N/A
• Number of Analyst Covering: 0
• EPS Forecast (FY): -0.11
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $67.06M

• Rating: 46 Neutral
• Price Target: $2.00 ▼(-34.85% Downside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/28/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/28/26

The score is held down mainly by deteriorated financial performance (large 2025 disruption and ongoing losses) and bearish technicals (below key moving averages with negative MACD). A high dividend yield and still-positive cash flow provide some support, but liquidation-related execution risk and reduced expected proceeds limit confidence.

Positive Factors

Cash generation resilience

Elme continues to generate positive operating and free cash flow even through the 2025 disruption, indicating that core property operations still produce cash. Durable cash generation supports orderly asset dispositions, funds working capital during wind-down, and limits reliance on new financing.

Improved leverage posture

Leverage trending lower through 2024 and a 2025 snapshot with zero debt improve financial flexibility during liquidation. Lower nominal debt reduces refinance and interest risks, simplifying asset-sale execution and preserving remaining cash for distributions and prioritized payouts to stakeholders.

Historic gross margin stability

Consistent ~60% gross margins from 2022–2024 show the business maintained pricing power and cost control across operations. That structural margin strength supports cash conversion from rents and suggests redevelopment and lease-up initiatives can sustainably lift rents and occupancy in favorable markets.

Negative Factors

Persistent net losses and 2025 collapse

Chronic net losses through multiple years and a severe 2025 earnings collapse undermine returns on invested capital and indicate fundamental profitability weaknesses. Persistent losses strain retained capital, limit reinvestment capacity, and raise the risk that asset sales must absorb operating shortfalls or writedowns.

Liquidation execution and governance risk

The formal wind-down, board reductions, trustee resignations and executive turnover concentrate execution risk on a smaller team. Successful liquidation depends on timely property sales and cost control; governance churn and reliance on retention incentives raise the chance of operational slip-ups and slower realizations.

Lowered expected recoveries from asset sales

Management reduced projected liquidating distributions after softer bids for key assets and higher disposition costs. This structural pressure on sale proceeds reflects local market weakness and elevates the chance that final recoveries will be materially below prior estimates, limiting shareholder returns.

Elme Communities Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Elme Communities owns and operates uniquely positioned real estate assets in the Washington Metro area. Backed by decades of experience, expertise and ambition, we create value by transforming insights into strategy and strategy into action. As of October 29, 2020, the Company's portfolio of 45 properties includes approximately 3.7 million square feet of commercial space and 6,863 multifamily apartment units. These 45 properties consist of 22 multifamily properties,15 office properties, and 8 retail centers. Our shares trade on the NYSE. With a track record of driving returns and delivering satisfaction, we are a trusted authority in one of the nation's most competitive real estate markets.

How the Company Makes Money

Elme Communities generates revenue primarily through rental income from its multifamily residential properties. The company leases units to tenants, and the consistent demand for housing in its target markets provides a stable revenue stream. Additionally, Elme may benefit from ancillary income sources such as fees from leasing, parking, and other community services. The company’s revenue model is supported by strategic partnerships with property management firms that enhance operational efficiency and tenant satisfaction. Furthermore, Elme's focus on property redevelopment and modernization can lead to increased rental rates and occupancy levels, thereby contributing to its overall earnings.

Elme Communities Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Profitability is the primary drag: net losses across 2020–2024 and a sharp 2025 deterioration with zero revenue and a very large loss. Offsetting this, cash flow has remained positive (including 2025) and leverage looked more manageable through 2024, but the 2025 inflection increases sustainability risk.

Income Statement

Operating performance has been inconsistent and recently deteriorated sharply. Revenue grew from 2022 to 2024 (with steady gross margins around ~60%), but profitability remained weak with net losses in every year shown (2020–2024). The 2025 annual report is a major negative inflection, showing zero revenue and a very large net loss, indicating significant disruption and/or non-recurring charges that overwhelm the income profile.

Balance Sheet

Leverage improved through 2024, with debt-to-equity moving from elevated levels in 2020 to a more moderate range in 2021–2024, and equity remaining substantial. However, returns on equity are negative across the period and collapse in 2025 due to the large loss, highlighting that the capital base has not been generating profits. The 2025 snapshot shows zero debt alongside a smaller equity base versus prior years, which improves leverage optics but raises questions given the concurrent operational stress.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is a relative bright spot: operating cash flow and free cash flow are positive each year shown, including 2025, suggesting the business is still producing cash despite reported losses. Free cash flow improved in 2023 and 2024 but declined in 2025, indicating weakening momentum. Overall, cash flows appear more resilient than earnings, but the recent drop and the mismatch versus net income point to sustainability risk if operating conditions stay pressured.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	0.00	241.94M	227.91M	209.38M	169.15M
Gross Profit	-76.60M	144.37M	139.97M	127.94M	102.24M
EBITDA	-44.05M	120.67M	66.40M	85.79M	76.48M
Net Income	-154.16M	-13.10M	-52.98M	-30.87M	-21.79M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	2.11B	1.85B	1.90B	1.87B	1.88B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	1.33B	6.14M	5.98M	8.39M	233.60M
Total Debt	0.00	698.95M	679.35M	552.36M	496.95M
Total Liabilities	1.88B	763.68M	745.68M	608.82M	558.93M
Stockholders Equity	238.91M	1.08B	1.15B	1.26B	1.32B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	62.24M	95.03M	84.26M	71.47M	89.16M
Operating Cash Flow	62.24M	95.24M	84.67M	73.21M	89.16M
Investing Cash Flow	-26.99M	-43.74M	-146.22M	-241.16M	702.17M
Financing Cash Flow	-34.97M	-51.43M	60.24M	-56.42M	-565.40M

Elme Communities Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 3.07
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Positive

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For ELME, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 3.07 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 2.19, above the 50-day MA of 2.50, and above the 200-day MA of 2.52, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.10 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 32.01 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 19.17 is Positive, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for ELME.

Elme Communities Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
Sector *	65 Neutral	$2.17B	12.19	3.79%	4.94%	3.15%	1.96%
DEA	57 Neutral	$1.08B	85.26	0.93%	9.58%	11.02%	-30.91%
PDM	51 Neutral	$926.38M	-11.04	-4.45%	6.09%	-1.23%	9.10%
ELME	46 Neutral	$191.04M	-1.40	-13.43%	4.14%	3.10%	-900.13%
JBGS	46 Neutral	$1.12B	-7.01	-10.10%	4.01%	-11.04%	-58.49%
HPP	45 Neutral	$410.46M	-0.57	-14.02%	―	-7.89%	-15.88%

Elme Communities Corporate Events

Elme Communities Advances Liquidation Plan with Leadership Changes

On January 23, 2026, Elme Communities detailed further steps in its wind-down, including board, executive and financial updates tied to its Plan of Sale and Liquidation. Two trustees, Ellen M. Goitia and Ron D. Sturzenegger, notified the company on January 21, 2026 that they will resign shortly after the filing of the 2025 Form 10-K as part of a planned reduction in board size aligned with the liquidation. The board also approved new compensation and retention arrangements for top executives, replacing prior change-in-control and incentive plans with retention agreements and a new short-term incentive plan that tie payouts to maximizing additional liquidating distributions, accelerating the sale of remaining properties and maintaining efficient operations during the wind-down; current CFO Steven Freishtat will depart shortly after the 2025 Form 10-K is filed, with long-time executive W. Drew Hammond assuming the CFO role and receiving an increased salary and incentive opportunity. Operationally, as of January 23, 2026 Elme had entered into purchase and sale agreements, beyond inspection periods, to sell three of its ten remaining properties for about $155 million, continues to market the remaining seven assets, and is still targeting completion of all property sales by mid-2026 while it downsizes to a lean workforce of roughly 109 employees. Financially, the company updated its estimated total liquidating distributions to between $17.02 and $17.47 per share, including the $14.67 per share initial liquidating distribution paid on January 7, 2026, lowering the expected additional payout range to $2.35–$2.80 per share mainly due to reduced expected sale proceeds for Riverside Apartments and, to a lesser extent, two D.C. properties amid softer local market conditions and slightly higher costs and term loan balances; Elme plans to keep its shares listed on the NYSE during most of this process to preserve liquidity before any later cost-saving delisting decision.

The most recent analyst rating on (ELME) stock is a Hold with a $3.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Elme Communities stock, see the ELME Stock Forecast page.