Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New $12.39 Million Investment in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH invested approximately $12.39 million in Independence Realty Trust, acquiring 583,380 shares during the first quarter.
• Independence Realty Trust reported $0.27 earnings per share for the last quarter, slightly missing analysts’ expectations of $0.28.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.16 to $0.17, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.92%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 583,380 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $12,385,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.25% of Independence Realty Trust as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,398,947 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $265,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037,968 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,380,250 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $86,904,000 after purchasing an additional 352,307 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,551,247 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $70,457,000 after purchasing an additional 793,403 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,381,684 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $67,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,506,902 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,737,000 after purchasing an additional 11,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on IRT. Barclays increased their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.40.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:IRT traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.38. The company had a trading volume of 362,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,106,647. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.04, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $17.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.14. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.05 and a 12-month high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $160.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.08 million. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 0.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. This is an increase from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. Independence Realty Trust's payout ratio is 485.71%.

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.