Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.0625.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Independence Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Barclays raised their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research raised Independence Realty Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Independence Realty Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IRT opened at $17.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.42. Independence Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $18.18.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.23. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.35% and a net margin of 7.27%.The firm had revenue of $165.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Independence Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 360.00%.

Institutional Trading of Independence Realty Trust

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 6.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,106,225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,521,000 after acquiring an additional 123,274 shares during the last quarter. Argosy Lionbridge Management LLC acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,209,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,445,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,690,000 after purchasing an additional 148,449 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,235,002 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $580,948,000 after acquiring an additional 250,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 1,767.5% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 571,568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,991,000 after purchasing an additional 540,962 shares in the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Company Profile

Independence Realty Trust is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust that acquires, redevelops and manages multi-family communities. The company focuses on workforce housing, targeting Class A and B garden-style apartments in suburban and urban infill locations. Its core activities include sourcing value-add acquisitions, overseeing property renovations and delivering in-house property management services to optimize rental income and occupancy levels.

Headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Independence Realty Trust maintains a geographically diverse portfolio across several high-growth U.S.