What Makes Independence Realty (IRT) Attractive

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) is one of the most favored real estate investment trusts according to Hedge Funds.

On January 9, Citizens JMP analyst Aaron Hecht maintained his Outperform rating on Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT), while lowering his estimated target price from $25 to $22.

Hecht anticipates an inflection point in lease rates during 2026, due to the expected slowdown in deliveries that will result in improvement of supply-side conditions in the market. However, he expects core funds from operations (FFO) during the next couple of years to remain under pressure. This is primarily due to the continued effects of last year’s oversupply of new apartments witnessed in Sunbelt areas, which kept rental growth highly timid. Despite the downward revision, his target price forecasts still offer an upside potential of 27.5% to investors.

Ami Probandt from UBS also maintained a bullish view on Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT), assigning a Buy rating to the stock on January 8. She raised her price target from $19 to $20, which yields an upside of almost 16%.

Probandt attributed her stance to the macroeconomic backdrop, easing supply-side conditions, and cheap valuations for REITs. She expects a turnaround for REITs during the coming year, with an expectation of 9%-11% total returns.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) is a self-managed REIT that acquires and manages multifamily apartment communities to generate optimal risk-adjusted returns. They target areas surrounding employment & retail centers, and schools across the expanding non-gateway U.S. market. The company aims to deliver a strong return on capital to investors in the form of dividends and capital gains.

While we acknowledge the potential of IRT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.