Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (IRT) Upgraded by Zacks Investment Research to “Buy”

Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning. Zacks Investment Research currently has $11.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

According to Zacks, “Independence Realty Trust, Inc. is a real estate investment trust. It is focused on acquiring and owning well-located garden-style and mid-rise apartment properties. The Company owns apartment properties primarily in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Texas and Virginia. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. is based in United States. “

IRT has been the topic of several other reports. ValuEngine lowered Independence Realty Trust from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. BidaskClub lowered Independence Realty Trust from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday. FBR & Co upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the company from $9.75 to $11.50 in a research report on Thursday, June 15th. JMP Securities restated an outperform rating and set a $11.50 price target (up from $10.50) on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services restated a buy rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Independence Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $10.45.

Shares of Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) traded up 0.10% during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.26. 309,304 shares of the company’s stock traded hands. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.09 and a 200 day moving average of $9.57. Independence Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $7.74 and a 12 month high of $10.70.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. Independence Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 3.22% and a negative net margin of 10.28%. The company had revenue of $39.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust will post $0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

COPYRIGHT VIOLATION WARNING: This piece was published by [[site]] and is owned by of [[site]]. If you are viewing this piece on another website, it was illegally copied and reposted in violation of United States and international copyright & trademark laws. The original version of this piece can be accessed at [[permalink]].

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 27th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.02%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -313.03%.

In related news, CEO Scott Schaeffer acquired 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.12 per share, for a total transaction of $354,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 155,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,571,696.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the first quarter worth about $102,000. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the first quarter worth about $164,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 6.0% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 113,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,065,000 after buying an additional 6,400 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 16.6% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,662,597 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,578,000 after buying an additional 236,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 149.6% in the first quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,345,558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,608,000 after buying an additional 806,509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.83% of the company’s stock.

About Independence Realty Trust

Independence Realty Trust, Inc is an internally-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company is engaged in the business of owning, managing, operating, leasing, acquiring, developing, investing in, and disposing of real estate assets. The Company owns apartment properties in geographic non-gateway markets.