201,737 Shares in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Purchased by Vestcor Inc

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc recently acquired 201,737 shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (IRT), valued at approximately $4.28 million, representing 0.09% of the company's total shares.
• Independence Realty Trust has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.17 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $0.68 and a yield of 3.97%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for IRT shares, with an average price target of $22.40, following various adjustments by firms such as JMP Securities and UBS Group.

Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 201,737 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $4,283,000. Vestcor Inc owned about 0.09% of Independence Realty Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth $83,000. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $85,000. State of Wyoming lifted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,355 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $107,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on IRT shares. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Compass Point restated a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.40.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of IRT opened at $17.15 on Thursday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.94 and a 52-week high of $22.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 122.50, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.93. The business's fifty day moving average is $17.81 and its 200-day moving average is $19.12.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28. The firm had revenue of $161.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.78 million. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 0.85% and a net margin of 4.70%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Independence Realty Trust's payout ratio is 485.71%.

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.

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