Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.40.

Several brokerages have recently commented on IRT. UBS Group cut their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Compass Point reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

IRT traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.22. 1,556,692 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,042,030. Independence Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $17.05 and a 12-month high of $22.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.21. The company has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.96, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.93.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $160.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.08 million. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 0.85%. The firm's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. This is an increase from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. Independence Realty Trust's payout ratio is presently 485.71%.

Institutional Trading of Independence Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 131.4% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,254 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 189.5% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,883 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,887 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the first quarter worth about $53,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the first quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $83,000. 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 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.