Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 20,327 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 162,662 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,327 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.07% of Independence Realty Trust worth $3,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 29,601 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 142.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,786 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 8,679 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 265,667 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,271,000 after purchasing an additional 17,218 shares during the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $792,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 429,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,511,000 after buying an additional 38,147 shares during the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Independence Realty Trust news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total value of $212,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 873,365 shares in the company, valued at $18,524,071.65. This trade represents a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of IRT stock opened at $19.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.83, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.65 and a 52-week high of $22.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $20.15 and its 200 day moving average is $20.15.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 355.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on IRT shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, April 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. 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 report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.33.

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.