Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (IRT) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 28th

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.16 per share by the real estate investment trust on Monday, April 21st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th.

Independence Realty Trust has increased its dividend by an average of 10.1% annually over the last three years. Independence Realty Trust has a dividend payout ratio of 193.9% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Independence Realty Trust to earn $1.27 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.4%.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IRT opened at $20.84 on Wednesday. Independence Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $15.23 and a 1 year high of $22.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $19.00 to $21.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.71.

Independence Realty Trust Company Profile

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.