GW&K Investment Management LLC Sells 59,450 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. $IRT

GW&K Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,308,087 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 59,450 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 0.55% of Independence Realty Trust worth $22,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in IRT. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1,435.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,827,503 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,733,000 after purchasing an additional 3,578,221 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $52,122,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,368,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $21,965,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 3,473,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $56,923,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170,633 shares during the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Up 0.6%

IRT opened at $17.02 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.46. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $18.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.08, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.96.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.23. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.35% and a net margin of 7.27%.The firm had revenue of $165.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Independence Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This is an increase from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 360.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Independence Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Independence Realty Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.06.

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.