Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.33.

IRT has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, April 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Insider Activity

In other Independence Realty Trust news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total value of $212,100.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $232,245. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 889.9% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 410,801 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,721,000 after buying an additional 369,303 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 51,882 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 2,651 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $214,000. CWM LLC grew its position in Independence Realty Trust by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 45,268 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 64,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company's stock.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE:IRT opened at $19.63 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. Independence Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $15.66 and a 1-year high of $22.26.

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

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 457.14%.

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.

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