Short Interest in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Decreases By 5.6%

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) saw a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 26,740,000 shares, a decline of 5.6% from the November 30th total of 28,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 13.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IRT. Barclays initiated coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $19.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.14.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

IRT stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.84. 1,808,002 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,201,886. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.31, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.19. Independence Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $14.07 and a 52-week high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 246.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 38.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,495,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,150,000 after buying an additional 686,630 shares during the last quarter. SMART Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $873,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 256,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,981,000 after purchasing an additional 28,059 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Independence Realty Trust by 751.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 93,325 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 82,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $267,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.