Metis Global Partners LLC Raises Stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 29.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,298 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Long Pond Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 204.7% during the first quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 10,414,483 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $167,986,000 after purchasing an additional 6,996,365 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $22,464,000. B&I Capital AG acquired a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,900,000. Easterly Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,132,000. Finally, Makena Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,039,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $19.00 to $21.00 in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.43.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IRT opened at $21.25 on Tuesday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.99 and a 1-year high of $21.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.05.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%.

About Independence Realty Trust

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.