Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Receives $22.22 Average PT from Brokerages

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.33.

IRT has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, April 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of Independence Realty Trust stock opened at $18.76 on Wednesday. Independence Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $15.27 and a 1 year high of $22.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 104.19, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.17.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.24. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.11% and a net margin of 6.15%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 355.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Independence Realty Trust news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total transaction of $212,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 873,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,524,071.65. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IRT. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Independence Realty Trust by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 627.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 2,008 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the third quarter worth about $64,000. 88.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.