Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Short Interest Up 19.8% in March

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 12,092,966 shares, a growth of 19.8% from the February 26th total of 10,095,983 shares. Approximately 5.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,487,656 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE IRT traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $15.02. 1,043,168 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,828,129. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.55. Independence Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $14.63 and a 1 year high of $21.56.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 8.60%.The business had revenue of $167.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.26 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 283.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IRT shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Independence Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.61.

Institutional Trading of Independence Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 16.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,935,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,320,000 after acquiring an additional 420,682 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,982,951 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,078,000 after acquiring an additional 7,309 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 249,282 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,740 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 70,678 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

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.