Easterly Investment Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 613,867 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,867 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $12,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SMART Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $873,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 182.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 400,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,208,000 after purchasing an additional 258,549 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 256,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,981,000 after purchasing an additional 28,059 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,495,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,150,000 after buying an additional 686,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at about $1,594,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of IRT opened at $20.95 on Thursday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.25 and a 52-week high of $22.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.19.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.24. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 1.11%. On average, research analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 355.56%.

Independence Realty Trust Profile

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.