Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Short Interest Update

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

Institutional Trading of Independence Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 295.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,043 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Independence Realty Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:IRT opened at $19.84 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.73 and a 200-day moving average of $19.94. The firm has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.19. Independence Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $14.07 and a twelve month high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 246.15%.

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.