Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. $IRT

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 68,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,023,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of IRT. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 97.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,422 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1,420.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 3,110 shares during the period. 88.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on IRT shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Independence Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.06.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

IRT opened at $17.30 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.42. The company has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.52, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.95. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $14.60 and a one year high of $18.18.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.23. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 1.35%. The business had revenue of $165.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Independence Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This is an increase from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 360.00%.

Independence Realty Trust Profile

Independence Realty Trust is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust that acquires, redevelops and manages multi-family communities. The company focuses on workforce housing, targeting Class A and B garden-style apartments in suburban and urban infill locations. Its core activities include sourcing value-add acquisitions, overseeing property renovations and delivering in-house property management services to optimize rental income and occupancy levels.

Headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Independence Realty Trust maintains a geographically diverse portfolio across several high-growth U.S.