Independence Realty Trust’s (IRT) “Market Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at JMP Securities

JMP Securities restated their market outperform rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $25.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

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

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of IRT opened at $19.47 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. Independence Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $15.66 and a 52-week high of $22.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.14.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $160.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 457.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Independence Realty Trust

In other Independence Realty Trust news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total value of $212,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $232,245. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,398,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $265,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037,968 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,139,652 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,811,000 after buying an additional 278,959 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,380,250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $86,904,000 after acquiring an additional 352,307 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,561,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,662,000 after acquiring an additional 60,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,551,247 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,457,000 after acquiring an additional 793,403 shares during the last quarter. 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.