JMP Securities Reaffirms Market Outperform Rating for Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT)

JMP Securities reiterated their market outperform rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $25.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust's stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on IRT. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, April 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.67.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:IRT traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $19.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,680,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,096,283. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.13. Independence Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $15.66 and a 1 year high of $22.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 107.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $160.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.08 million. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.11% and a net margin of 6.15%. The firm's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Independence Realty Trust's payout ratio is 457.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $232,245. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew 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 lifted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,491 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,735 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.