Sheets Smith Wealth Management Decreases Stock Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management lowered its stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $1,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of IRT. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 355,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,556,000 after purchasing an additional 9,466 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 280,506 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,955,000 after purchasing an additional 7,258 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 136,579 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,898,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 37,035 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 9,581 shares during the period. Finally, Carlton Hofferkamp & Jenks Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $278,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of IRT opened at $17.77 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $18.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.61. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.10 and a 52 week high of $22.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.96.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 0.85% and a net margin of 4.70%. The company had revenue of $160.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This is a boost from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 457.14%.

Insider Transactions at Independence Realty Trust

In other news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total value of $212,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 873,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,524,071.65. The trade was a 1.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 11,500 shares of company stock valued at $241,445 in the last ninety days. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, April 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.70.

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.