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

Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com 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 updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.70.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on IRT shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group started coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, April 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started 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. Compass Point reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IRT opened at $17.74 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $18.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.63. Independence Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $17.10 and a 52 week high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $160.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.08 million. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 0.85%. The business's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 457.14%.

Insider Transactions at Independence Realty Trust

In other news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of Independence Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total transaction of $212,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 873,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,524,071.65. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,500 shares of company stock valued at $241,445. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Independence Realty Trust

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 131.4% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,254 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 2,008 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company's stock.

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.

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