Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Stock

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) had its price target raised by Barclays from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on IRT. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, April 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.78.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:IRT opened at $19.12 on Friday. Independence Realty Trust has a one year low of $15.66 and a one year high of $22.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.13.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 1.11%. The business had revenue of $160.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 457.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total value of $212,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 873,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,524,071.65. This represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $232,245 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Independence Realty Trust

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 627.5% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 2,008 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. 88.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.