AlphaQuest LLC Grows Stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 353.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,704 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 32,497 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 236.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,027,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,573,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829,247 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 24.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,360,979 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $232,900,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225,371 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 419.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,433,058 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157,052 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 38.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,495,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,150,000 after purchasing an additional 686,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $12,105,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Independence Realty Trust stock opened at $21.13 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.26. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.23 and a 52 week high of $22.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.37, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.19.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last issued 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 355.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IRT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.71.

Independence Realty Trust Profile

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.