J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 313.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 144,563 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 109,638 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Independence Realty Trust worth $3,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,781,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 747,252 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $15,864,000 after purchasing an additional 25,124 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1,991.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,749 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,800,000 after purchasing an additional 34,992 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 298,131 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,915,000 after purchasing an additional 16,331 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,551,247 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $70,457,000 after buying an additional 793,403 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.25% of the company's stock.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of IRT traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $17.50. The company had a trading volume of 746,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,115,895. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $18.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.17. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.05 and a 52-week high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 0.85% and a net margin of 4.70%. The company had revenue of $160.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a $0.17 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend yield of 3.89%. Independence Realty Trust's payout ratio is presently 485.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IRT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Compass Point reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.40.

Independence Realty Trust 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.