Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Short Interest Update

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 17,310,000 shares, a decrease of 20.3% from the February 13th total of 21,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.5 days. Currently, 7.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 66.0% during 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 buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 627.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $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 Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Independence Realty Trust stock opened at $20.97 on Monday. Independence Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $15.23 and a twelve month high of $22.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.28. The firm has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.49, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.71.

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.