Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $24.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $20.00.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $21.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.71.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of Independence Realty Trust stock opened at $20.60 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.27. Independence Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $15.23 and a fifty-two week high of $22.26.

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

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 355.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRT. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 627.5% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 33.9% during 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 last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.