Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $24.00 to $21.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Independence Realty Trust traded as low as $17.07 and last traded at $17.11, with a volume of 892440 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.47.

Several other brokerages have also commented on IRT. Compass Point reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 131.4% during 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 during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,887 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the first quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. Institutional investors own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.93.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last announced 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 business 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%. Independence Realty Trust’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 485.71%.

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.