Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Stock Price

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, April 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.78.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of IRT stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.30. 1,800,863 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,096,075. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.22, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $19.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.13. Independence Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $15.66 and a 52 week high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $160.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.08 million. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 1.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. Analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is 457.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total transaction of $212,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 873,365 shares in the company, valued at $18,524,071.65. This represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock worth $232,245 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 627.5% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 2,008 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,491 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,735 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the period. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Independence Realty Trust

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.