Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $17.25, but opened at $16.11. Independence Realty Trust shares last traded at $17.0850, with a volume of 464,788 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on IRT. Wall Street Zen downgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.56.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 2.1%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 169.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.01.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $167.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.31 million. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 3.42% and a return on equity of 0.62%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. Independence Realty Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.200-1.210 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 680.00%.

Institutional Trading of Independence Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,806,493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $696,482,000 after buying an additional 554,729 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,570,175 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $288,095,000 after buying an additional 171,228 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,139,506 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $161,678,000 after acquiring an additional 30,701 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,926,454 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $122,529,000 after purchasing an additional 789,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,190,693 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $109,524,000 after buying an additional 138,817 shares during the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.