Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) shares hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $14.71 and last traded at $14.73, with a volume of 37134 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on IRT. Colliers Securities lowered Independence Realty Trust from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Independence Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.61.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 61.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.63.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 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 business had revenue of $167.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 283.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,235,002 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $580,948,000 after purchasing an additional 250,549 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Independence Realty Trust by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,074,813 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $230,705,000 after buying an additional 76,635 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,139,506 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $161,678,000 after buying an additional 30,701 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,445,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,690,000 after buying an additional 148,449 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 209.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,649,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $98,759,000 after buying an additional 3,824,512 shares during the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is currently 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.