Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Short Interest Down 5.6% in December

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 26,740,000 shares, a decline of 5.6% from the November 30th total of 28,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 13.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 295.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,043 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on IRT shares. Barclays started coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.14.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

IRT stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,808,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,201,886. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.94. Independence Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $14.07 and a 1-year high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 246.15%.

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.