Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Colliers Securities lowered Independence Realty Trust from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research cut Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised Independence Realty Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.35.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE IRT opened at $16.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.88. Independence Realty Trust has a one year low of $15.06 and a one year high of $21.86. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Institutional Trading of Independence Realty Trust

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $209,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 16.7% in the 1st 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. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 7.2% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 23,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 3.0% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 47,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $829,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 3.4% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,896 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Independence Realty Trust

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.