Essential Planning LLC. Takes Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 13,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 47.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 147,182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,920,000 after buying an additional 47,198 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 353.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 41,704 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 32,497 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 122,544 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 3,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,105,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.71.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of IRT opened at $20.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.27. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.23 and a 12 month high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.24. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 1.11%. As a group, research analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 355.56%.

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.