Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 17,310,000 shares, a decline of 20.3% from the February 13th total of 21,710,000 shares. Approximately 7.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IRT shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.71.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE IRT opened at $20.97 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.28. Independence Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $15.23 and a 52-week high of $22.26. The company has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of 116.49, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.19.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.24. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 1.11%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 355.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $7,573,000. SMART Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at about $873,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 182.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 400,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,208,000 after buying an additional 258,549 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 12.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 256,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,981,000 after buying an additional 28,059 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 38.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,495,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,150,000 after buying an additional 686,630 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

About Independence Realty Trust

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.