Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $965,000 Investment in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 63,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $965,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,728,000. Ranger Global Real Estate Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ranger Global Real Estate Advisors LLC now owns 3,539,156 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,796,000 after purchasing an additional 461,572 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 853,747 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $12,012,000 after purchasing an additional 173,700 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,230,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 351,518 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,929,000 after purchasing an additional 114,613 shares during the period. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IRT. Barclays decreased their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. TheStreet downgraded Independence Realty Trust from a "c" rating to a "d+" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of IRT stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $15.66. 3,017,106 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,314,990. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -223.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50 day moving average is $15.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.77. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.61 and a 1 year high of $18.77.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -914.16%.

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.