Short Interest in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Rises By 90.3%

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,820,000 shares, a growth of 90.3% from the August 31st total of 12,520,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 11.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on IRT. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.57.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IRT traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,467,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,281,890. The company has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of -683.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.17. Independence Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $11.61 and a 12-month high of $21.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $19.96 and its 200-day moving average is $17.98.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is -2,133.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRT. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 146.6% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,833 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.