Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 51,432 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. $IRT

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 15.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 276,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 51,432 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.12% of Independence Realty Trust worth $4,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Independence Realty Trust stock opened at $16.66 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.32 and a beta of 0.95. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.60 and a 52 week high of $18.18.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. Independence Realty Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, July 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 26th. This is a positive change from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 360.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised Independence Realty Trust from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Independence Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. 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 report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.