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

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 daily volume of 2,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 11.6 days.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of IRT traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,467,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,281,890. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.96 and a 200 day moving average of $17.98. Independence Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $11.61 and a 52 week high of $21.20. The company has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -683.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.17.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Long Pond Capital LP increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 204.7% in the first quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 10,414,483 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $167,986,000 after purchasing an additional 6,996,365 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,048,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 164.5% in the fourth quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 2,205,569 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,745,000 after acquiring an additional 1,371,851 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $22,464,000. Finally, B&I Capital AG bought a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,900,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.