Aew Capital Management L P Lowers Stock Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. $IRT

Aew Capital Management L P cut its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 68.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 603,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,325,558 shares during the period. Independence Realty Trust makes up approximately 0.6% of Aew Capital Management L P’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Aew Capital Management L P’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $9,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 551.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 88.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of IRT opened at $16.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.00. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.06 and a 1 year high of $21.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.85.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The firm had revenue of $167.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.26 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. Independence Realty Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 283.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Independence Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.35.

About Independence Realty Trust

Independence Realty Trust is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust that acquires, redevelops and manages multi-family communities. The company focuses on workforce housing, targeting Class A and B garden-style apartments in suburban and urban infill locations. Its core activities include sourcing value-add acquisitions, overseeing property renovations and delivering in-house property management services to optimize rental income and occupancy levels.

Headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Independence Realty Trust maintains a geographically diverse portfolio across several high-growth U.S.