Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.35.

A number of brokerages recently commented on IRT. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Colliers Securities downgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IRT opened at $16.76 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 167.57, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.00. Independence Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $15.06 and a 52-week high of $21.86.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 680.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,235,002 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $580,948,000 after purchasing an additional 250,549 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,139,506 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $161,678,000 after buying an additional 30,701 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,926,454 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $122,529,000 after buying an additional 789,515 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,445,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,690,000 after buying an additional 148,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Long Pond Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 564.5% in the second quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 5,500,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,304,000 after buying an additional 4,672,690 shares in the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.