Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Short Interest Down 20.3% in February

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 17,310,000 shares, a drop of 20.3% from the February 13th total of 21,710,000 shares. Currently, 7.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on IRT shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.71.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 0.9 %

IRT stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.81. 1,875,175 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,011,871. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 115.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.18. Independence Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $15.23 and a 1-year high of $22.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.28.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.24. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 1.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 355.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IRT. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the third quarter worth about $41,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 627.5% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 2,008 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. 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.