Easterly Investment Partners LLC Sells 651,068 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. $IRT

Key Points

• Easterly Investment Partners sharply reduced its stake in Independence Realty Trust, selling 651,068 shares in the fourth quarter and cutting its position by 94.7% to 36,509 shares worth about $638,000.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other investors making mixed moves; overall, institutions hold 88.25% of IRT’s shares. Notable buyers included Vanguard, JPMorgan, and Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
• Independence Realty Trust raised its dividend to $0.18 per quarter from $0.17, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $20.06. The stock opened at $15.88, below the target and near its recent trading range.

Easterly Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 94.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,509 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 651,068 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,106,225 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,521,000 after buying an additional 123,274 shares during the period. Argosy Lionbridge Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,209,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,235,002 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $580,948,000 after buying an additional 250,549 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 3,483.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,098,000 after buying an additional 65,098 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1,767.5% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 571,568 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,991,000 after buying an additional 540,962 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IRT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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 increased their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Independence Realty Trust from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.06.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

NYSE IRT opened at $15.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.39, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.98. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $14.60 and a one year high of $18.74. The business's fifty day moving average is $15.85 and its 200-day moving average is $16.46.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.23. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.35% and a net margin of 7.27%.The company had revenue of $165.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. The firm'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. Research analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Investors 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 positive change from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Independence Realty Trust's payout ratio is currently 360.00%.

Independence Realty Trust Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IRT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.