Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Price Target to $18.00

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $19.00 to $18.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on IRT. Zacks Research raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.50.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of IRT opened at $15.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.41. Independence Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $14.60 and a 1 year high of $19.83.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $167.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.26 million. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 283.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the third quarter worth about $857,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,106,225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,521,000 after buying an additional 123,274 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 329.6% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 268,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,398,000 after buying an additional 205,869 shares during the period. Argosy Lionbridge Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,209,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 3,483.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,098,000 after buying an additional 65,098 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Company Profile

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.