Barclays Cuts Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Price Target to $18.00

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $21.00 to $18.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Colliers Securities downgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.95.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of IRT stock opened at $16.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.79, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $16.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.82. Independence Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $15.06 and a 52 week high of $21.67.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The business had revenue of $167.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.26 million. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 8.60%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 283.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IRT. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the first quarter worth about $209,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,935,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,320,000 after buying an additional 420,682 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 35,099 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 551.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 54,381 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 8,228 shares in the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Independence Realty Trust

Independence Realty Trust is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust that acquires, redevelops and manages multi-family communities. The company focuses on workforce housing, targeting Class A and B garden-style apartments in suburban and urban infill locations. Its core activities include sourcing value-add acquisitions, overseeing property renovations and delivering in-house property management services to optimize rental income and occupancy levels.

Headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Independence Realty Trust maintains a geographically diverse portfolio across several high-growth U.S.