Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Short Interest Down 21.6% in March

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 9,482,097 shares, a decline of 21.6% from the March 15th total of 12,092,966 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,504,248 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IRT traded up $0.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,734,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,249,979. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.90 and its 200 day moving average is $16.42. Independence Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $14.60 and a 52 week high of $19.94. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.00.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The company had revenue of $167.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 283.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on IRT shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.61.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the third quarter worth $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the third quarter worth $26,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the third quarter worth $27,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.