Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $15.86 Million Stock Holdings in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 747,252 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 25,124 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Independence Realty Trust worth $15,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 122,544 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC now owns 11,070 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,491 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 2.2% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 46,763 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IRT. UBS Group dropped their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Compass Point reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.40.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:IRT traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.11. 3,238,855 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,034,975. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.05 and a fifty-two week high of $22.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.28. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 122.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.93.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $160.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.08 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. The business's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This is a boost from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Independence Realty Trust's payout ratio is 485.71%.

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.