Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.86.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on IRT. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $19.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IRT. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 0.5% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 99,984 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 133,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,295 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.3% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 69,961 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

IRT stock opened at $19.09 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 56.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.21. Independence Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $14.07 and a 1 year high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

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.