Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Stock Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 48.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 131,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 42,975 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.06% of Independence Realty Trust worth $2,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 249,303 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,293,000 after acquiring an additional 49,265 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $12,385,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $1,176,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $2,763,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,730 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.25% of the company's stock.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IRT traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.24. 4,294,634 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,570,315. The company's 50-day moving average is $17.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.08. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.67, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.94. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.59 and a 1 year high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 0.78%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a $0.17 dividend. This is an increase from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 566.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on IRT shares. Compass Point raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $24.00 in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.60.

Independence Realty Trust Company 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.