Blue Sky Capital Consultants Group Inc. Acquires New Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Blue Sky Capital Consultants Group Inc. bought a new stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 259,407 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $5,147,000. Independence Realty Trust makes up approximately 3.1% of Blue Sky Capital Consultants Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,398,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $265,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037,968 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 592.0% during the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,711,746 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,961,000 after buying an additional 1,464,400 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,381,684 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $67,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421,377 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 2,601.9% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 837,787 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,622,000 after buying an additional 806,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,551,247 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,457,000 after acquiring an additional 793,403 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of IRT opened at $18.00 on Friday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.66 and a 12-month high of $22.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.07. The company has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 99.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 1.11%. The business had revenue of $160.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. This is a boost from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 485.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Independence Realty Trust news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total value of $212,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 873,365 shares in the company, valued at $18,524,071.65. This represents a 1.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $232,245 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Compass Point restated a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.70.

Independence Realty Trust Company 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.