Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Hits New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)’s share price hit 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.47.

IRT has been the topic of several other research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Compass Point reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.40.

Institutional Trading of Independence Realty Trust

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.1% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 32,632 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 131.4% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,254 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 252,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,370,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 32,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.17 and its 200-day moving average is $19.25.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 0.85%. The business had revenue of $160.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. This is a boost from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 485.71%.

Independence Realty Trust Company Profile

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.