Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Sets New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $14.60 and last traded at $14.8020, with a volume of 41139 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on IRT. BMO Capital Markets raised Independence Realty Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.61.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.52. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 283.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at $26,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.