Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32, Zacks reports. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 0.62% and a net margin of 3.42%.The company had revenue of $167.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Independence Realty Trust stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.81. 3,794,248 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,632,312. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 168.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.90. Independence Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $15.06 and a twelve month high of $21.86.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 680.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on IRT shares. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Colliers Securities downgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.35.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,139,506 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $161,678,000 after purchasing an additional 30,701 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,874,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $67,729,000 after buying an additional 47,144 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 50.8% in the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 3,473,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,923,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170,633 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $62,320,000 after acquiring an additional 420,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,254,085 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,944,000 after acquiring an additional 77,226 shares during the period. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.