Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $1.18 Million in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 55,370 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,176,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IRT. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,292 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.1% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 32,632 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 252,949 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,370,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 10.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,730 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 2.2% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 46,763 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IRT traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $17.37. 162,189 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,104,770. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.05 and a 1-year high of $22.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.93. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $17.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.15.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $160.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.08 million. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 0.85% and a net margin of 4.70%. Independence Realty Trust's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This is an increase from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 485.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Independence Realty Trust

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.