Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Now Covered by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $24.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on IRT. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IRT opened at $20.94 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 116.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.18. Independence Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $15.23 and a 12 month high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 355.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IRT. Hilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,573,000. SMART Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the third quarter worth $873,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 182.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 400,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,208,000 after acquiring an additional 258,549 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 12.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 256,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,981,000 after acquiring an additional 28,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,495,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,150,000 after acquiring an additional 686,630 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

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.