Analysts Set Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) PT at $21.71

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IRT. Barclays dropped their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 627.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:IRT opened at $20.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 116.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.28. Independence Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $15.23 and a 52-week high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.24. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.11% and a net margin of 6.15%. Equities analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 355.56%.

Independence Realty Trust Company Profile

Independence Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: IRT) is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates multifamily communities, across non-gateway U.S. markets including Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Oklahoma City, OK, Nashville, TN, Houston, TX, and Tampa, FL.