Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.16

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given 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 raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.1% per year 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 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 Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:IRT opened at $20.84 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.75, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.19. Independence Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $15.23 and a 52 week high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.