Independence Realty Trust, Inc. $IRT Shares Purchased by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 1,767.5% in Q4, buying an additional 540,962 shares to hold 571,568 shares (about $9.99M), or 0.24% of the company.
• Institutional and hedge fund ownership is high at 88.25%, with several other funds modestly boosting positions during recent quarters.
• Analysts’ consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $20.50; the stock trades near $15.80 and pays a $0.68 annual dividend (yield 4.3%) but has an unusually high payout ratio of 283%, signaling dividend coverage risk.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 1,767.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 571,568 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 540,962 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.24% of Independence Realty Trust worth $9,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 37,925 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,357 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 39,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 46.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,289 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Independence Realty Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Independence Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $18.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.50.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE IRT opened at $15.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 65.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.00. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $19.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.41.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $167.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.26 million. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 8.60%.The business's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is 283.33%.

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.

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