Fisher Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. $IRT

Fisher Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 8.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,202,187 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 111,739 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $19,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IRT. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 551.2% in the second 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 last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 46.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the second quarter worth $61,000. Institutional investors own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

IRT stock opened at $16.73 on Thursday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.06 and a 1 year high of $21.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.89 and a 200 day moving average of $16.83. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.71, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.99.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 8.60%.The firm had revenue of $167.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.35.

Independence Realty Trust Company Profile

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.