Citigroup Cuts Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Price Target to $18.00

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $19.50 to $18.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.03% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on IRT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, December 29th. Colliers Securities cut Independence Realty Trust from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.05.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IRT traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.51. The company had a trading volume of 811,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,788,872. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.91, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.87. Independence Realty Trust has a one year low of $15.06 and a one year high of $21.86.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $167.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.26 million. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 8.60%.Independence Realty Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 7,297.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,601,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,002,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580,317 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 16,719.4% in the fourth quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 4,299,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $75,159,000 after buying an additional 4,274,143 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $190,000. Gillson Capital LP acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,437,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 162.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 148,931 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 92,113 shares during the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Independence Realty Trust Company Profile

Independence Realty Trust is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust that acquires, redevelops and manages multi-family communities. The company focuses on workforce housing, targeting Class A and B garden-style apartments in suburban and urban infill locations. Its core activities include sourcing value-add acquisitions, overseeing property renovations and delivering in-house property management services to optimize rental income and occupancy levels.

Headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Independence Realty Trust maintains a geographically diverse portfolio across several high-growth U.S.