Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Stock Rating Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Independence Realty Trust from “sell” to “hold.” Analysts overall have a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $19.39 average price target.
• In its latest quarter, IRT reported earnings per share of $0.11, below the $0.29 consensus estimate, while revenue of $171.96 million slightly exceeded expectations.
• The stock opened at $14.99 and traded between $14.33 and $17.79 over the past year; institutional investors own 88.25% of shares.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

IRT has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Independence Realty Trust to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Barclays decreased their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.39.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

IRT opened at $14.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.90. The business's 50-day moving average price is $15.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.03. Independence Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $14.33 and a 1 year high of $17.79.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.18). Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.75% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $171.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the second quarter worth about $601,975,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,473,797 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $51,725,000 after buying an additional 134,364 shares during the period. Rush Island Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the first quarter worth $51,462,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at $35,737,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,868,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Company Profile

Independence Realty Trust, Inc NYSE: IRT is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and acquires multifamily apartment communities in the United States. The company focuses on providing rental housing, with properties generally located in markets that offer population growth, employment opportunities and attractive long-term housing demand.

IRT's portfolio is concentrated primarily in the Southeast and other select U.S. growth markets, including communities in states such as Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Texas and Colorado.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.