Berger Financial Group Inc Decreases Stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. $IRT

Key Points

• Berger Financial Group reduced its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 39% in the first quarter, selling 91,213 shares and ending with 142,632 shares worth about $2.12 million.
• Analysts have been largely constructive on IRT, with recent target-price increases from Barclays and Wells Fargo and a Jefferies upgrade to strong-buy; the consensus rating is now Moderate Buy with an average target price of $20.06.
• The REIT beat quarterly earnings expectations, raised its dividend to $0.18 per share from $0.17, and now offers an annualized yield of about 4.2%.

Berger Financial Group Inc cut its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 39.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,632 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 91,213 shares during the quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc owned about 0.06% of Independence Realty Trust worth $2,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 38,532 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 39,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 1.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 70,678 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,250,000 after buying an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on IRT. Barclays upped their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Independence Realty Trust to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Independence Realty Trust from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.06.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

NYSE IRT opened at $17.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.52, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's 50-day moving average is $16.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.42. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.60 and a 12 month high of $18.18.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $166.35 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Independence Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This is a boost from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Independence Realty Trust's payout ratio is presently 360.00%.

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.

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