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

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on IRT. Barclays upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.19.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of IRT opened at $16.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.95. Independence Realty Trust has a one year low of $14.60 and a one year high of $18.18.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $165.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Independence Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. Analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 26th. This is an increase from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 360.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IRT. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 15.9% in the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 19,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 84.4% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 3,550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 133,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,985,000 after buying an additional 6,344 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 278,649 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,149,000 after buying an additional 58,584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

About Independence Realty Trust

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.