Comparing Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) & BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust (NYSE:BUI)

BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust (NYSE:BUI) and Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.1%. Elme Communities pays an annual dividend of $0.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.1%. Elme Communities pays out -11.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.9% of Elme Communities shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Elme Communities shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust and Elme Communities, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust	0	0	0	0	0.00
Elme Communities	1	3	0	0	1.75

Elme Communities has a consensus price target of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 1,007.69%. Given Elme Communities’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Elme Communities is more favorable than BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust and Elme Communities”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust	$104.35 million	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Elme Communities	$206.36 million	0.70	-$154.16 million	($1.52)	-1.07

BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Elme Communities.

Profitability

This table compares BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust and Elme Communities’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust	N/A	N/A	N/A
Elme Communities	-74.71%	-20.43%	-8.29%

Summary

Elme Communities beats BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust

BlackRock Utility, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. The fund is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. It invests in public equity markets across the globe. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating in the utilities and infrastructure sectors. It invests in stocks of companies across diversified market capitalizations. The fund also invests through derivatives, with an emphasis on option writing. The fund was formerly known as BlackRock Utility and Infrastructure Trust. BlackRock Utility, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust was formed on November 22, 2011 and is domiciled in the United States.

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.