Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME – Get Rating) and Global Self Storage (NASDAQ:SELF – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Elme Communities and Global Self Storage, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Elme Communities | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Global Self Storage | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Elme Communities currently has a consensus target price of $18.50, indicating a potential upside of 17.09%. Global Self Storage has a consensus target price of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 38.61%. Given Global Self Storage’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Global Self Storage is more favorable than Elme Communities.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
Profitability
This table compares Elme Communities and Global Self Storage’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Elme Communities | -12.32% | -2.10% | -1.42% |
| Global Self Storage | 22.76% | 5.73% | 4.10% |
Volatility & Risk
Elme Communities has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Global Self Storage has a beta of 0.21, indicating that its share price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Elme Communities and Global Self Storage’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Elme Communities | $217.39 million | 6.38 | -$30.87 million | ($0.30) | -52.67 |
| Global Self Storage | $11.94 million | 4.71 | $2.06 million | $0.25 | 20.20 |
Global Self Storage has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Elme Communities. Elme Communities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Global Self Storage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Elme Communities pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Global Self Storage pays an annual dividend of $0.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Elme Communities pays out -240.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Global Self Storage pays out 116.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Global Self Storage has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Global Self Storage is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
Global Self Storage beats Elme Communities on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Elme Communities
Elme Communities engages in the ownership and operation of income-producing real estate properties. It operates through the following segments: Office and Multifamily. The Office segment provides office space for various types of businesses and professions. The Multifamily segment provides rental housing for individuals and families throughout the Washington metro region. The company was founded by Arthur A. Birney and Benjamin H. Dorsey in 1960 and is headquartered in Washington, DC.
About Global Self Storage
Global Self Storage is a self-administered and self-managed REIT that owns, operates, manages, acquires, and redevelops self-storage properties. The company's self-storage properties are designed to offer affordable, easily accessible and secure storage space for residential and commercial customers. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company owns and/or manages 13 self-storage properties in Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Oklahoma.
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