Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Shares Purchased by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust, acquiring an additional 49,265 shares, bringing its total shares to 249,303 after a 24.6% increase.
• Independence Realty Trust reported a net margin of 4.70% and missed EPS estimates for the most recent quarter with $0.27 per share, compared to expectations of $0.28.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.16 to $0.17 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.91%.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 24.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 249,303 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 49,265 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Independence Realty Trust worth $5,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IRT. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,292 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.1% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 32,632 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 252,949 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,370,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,730 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 2.2% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 46,763 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company's stock.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of IRT stock traded up $0.26 on Tuesday, reaching $17.45. 646,977 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,108,963. The business's 50 day moving average price is $17.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.14. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.05 and a twelve month high of $22.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.68, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.93.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 0.85%. The company had revenue of $160.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. The business's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a positive change from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. Independence Realty Trust's payout ratio is 485.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IRT. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays increased 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Compass Point reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.40.

About Independence Realty Trust

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.