Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Short Interest Down 20.3% in February

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 17,310,000 shares, a drop of 20.3% from the February 13th total of 21,710,000 shares. Approximately 7.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.00.

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Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

NYSE:IRT traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.74. 3,440,558 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,018,651. The business has a 50 day moving average of $20.09 and a 200 day moving average of $20.29. Independence Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $15.25 and a 1-year high of $22.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.18.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.24. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.11% and a net margin of 6.15%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 355.56%.

Institutional Trading of Independence Realty Trust

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,398,947 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $265,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037,968 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,139,652 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $121,811,000 after buying an additional 278,959 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,857,943 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $120,108,000 after buying an additional 50,788 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,380,250 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $86,904,000 after buying an additional 352,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Independence Realty Trust by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,561,615 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $70,662,000 after acquiring an additional 60,919 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.