Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of 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 presently 13.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 99,984 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.3% in the third 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 last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 worth $5,777,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 2.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Institutional investors own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of Independence Realty Trust stock opened at $19.84 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.94. Independence Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $14.07 and a 52-week high of $22.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.19.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IRT. JMP Securities lifted 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. Barclays began coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.14.

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.