Analysts Set Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) PT at $21.35

Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.35.

IRT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research lowered Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Colliers Securities lowered shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IRT opened at $16.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 69.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.83. Independence Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $15.06 and a 1 year high of $21.67.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 business had revenue of $167.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 283.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $857,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 338,253 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,984,000 after purchasing an additional 15,200 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 329.6% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 268,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,398,000 after purchasing an additional 205,869 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 92.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 360,215 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,372,000 after buying an additional 173,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the second quarter worth $581,000. 88.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.