CluenexIndependence Realty Trust IRT
Independence Realty Trust scores weak on business quality (4.4 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Independence Realty Trust does
Independence Realty Trust owns and operates multifamily apartment communities, collecting rent from residential tenants across targeted US markets. The firm focuses on sunbelt and midwestern submarkets to drive rental income from residential housing.
- What it does best
Independence Realty Trust delivers an exceptional return on equity of 1.27% compared to peers like ESS at 0.08%, showing high net income relative to shareholder equity. This efficiency stems from a concentrated portfolio in high-demand rental markets that maximizes asset utilization.
- The main risk
With interest coverage at 1.4x, earnings barely cover debt servicing costs, leaving the company vulnerable to any spike in financing expenses or drop in rental income. Refinancing or servicing its $2.3 billion of total debt consumes a massive share of operating cash flow.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margins rest at 17.1% with free cash flow margins at 18.0%. Margins remain stable but compressed by high financing costs, meaning the business captures limited net profit after servicing its debt obligations.
The company holds a moderate competitive moat built on localized property clusters in sunbelt regions, ranking in the middle of its sector. Scale in specific submarkets deters rapid new local competition, though broad real estate replication limits pure pricing power.
Revenue grew 2.8% to reach $667 million, showing sluggish top-line expansion. Growth sits in the bottom quartile of its sector at the 37th percentile, trailing historical pace.
Total debt sits at $2.3 billion against just $24 million in cash, creating heavy leverage. Free cash flow reached $120 million, showing positive generation but getting squeezed by high interest burdens and capital expenditures.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on IRT
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Independence Realty Trust scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (4.4 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is fair, moat fair, growth slow and financial health weak.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Nov 4, 2026.
See IRT today
- Today's verdict on IRT, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Independence Realty Trust (IRT)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/irt/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.