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

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) saw a significant 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 volume of 1,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 13.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Independence Realty Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 99,984 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 69,961 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,434,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 281,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,777,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 63,011 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

IRT traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.84. 1,808,002 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,201,886. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.94. Independence Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $14.07 and a 1-year high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 246.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IRT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $21.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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. Finally, JMP Securities upped 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 report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.14.

Independence Realty Trust Company Profile

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.