GW&K Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. $IRT

GW&K Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund 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’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $22,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,874,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $67,729,000 after acquiring an additional 47,144 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,150,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,596,000 after acquiring an additional 44,604 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 217.2% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 711,275 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,433,000 after acquiring an additional 205,506 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,583,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE IRT opened at $17.02 on Thursday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $18.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.46. The stock has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.96.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $165.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Independence Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on IRT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings cut Independence Realty Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Independence Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.06.

Independence Realty Trust 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.