Independence Realty Trust, Inc. $IRT Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 15.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 276,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 51,432 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $4,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 1.3%

IRT opened at $16.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 83.32 and a beta of 0.95. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.60 and a twelve month high of $18.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.33.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.23. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.35% and a net margin of 7.27%.The company had revenue of $165.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Independence Realty Trust’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. This is a positive change from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 360.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on IRT. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Independence Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.64.

About Independence Realty Trust

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.