Kennedy Capital Management LLC Has $6.59 Million Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 331,955 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 36,776 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $6,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IRT. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 627.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Institutional investors own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, April 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.33.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

IRT opened at $18.22 on Friday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.27 and a fifty-two week high of $22.26. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.19, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 355.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total transaction of $212,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 873,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,524,071.65. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.