Bard Associates Inc. Sells 60,809 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. $IRT

Bard Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 45.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 60,809 shares during the period. Bard Associates Inc.’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $1,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IRT. Long Pond Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 564.5% during the 2nd quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 5,500,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,304,000 after acquiring an additional 4,672,690 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,578,221 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at about $30,368,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at about $21,965,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 3,284.7% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,157,916 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $18,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,706 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Independence Realty Trust stock opened at $15.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.77. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.06 and a 1-year high of $21.56.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The company had revenue of $167.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.26 million. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 1.58%. Independence Realty Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 283.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on IRT shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Colliers Securities cut Independence Realty Trust from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.61.

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.