Short Interest in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Increases By 12.7%

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,450,000 shares, an increase of 12.7% from the December 31st total of 7,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,760,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on APLE shares. Bank of America upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.60.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APLE traded down $0.11 during trading on Monday, hitting $15.33. 1,769,075 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,734,699. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 12-month low of $13.60 and a 12-month high of $16.99. The company has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.06.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.22). Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 14.53%. The firm had revenue of $378.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.26%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,737,959 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $100,059,000 after purchasing an additional 718,844 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,761,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $85,571,000 after purchasing an additional 62,149 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,243,575 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $77,867,000 after buying an additional 18,858 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,457,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,187,000 after purchasing an additional 182,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 2,099,877 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,183,000 after purchasing an additional 207,256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Company Profile

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc (NYSE: APLE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns one of the largest and most diverse portfolios of upscale, rooms-focused hotels in the United States. Apple Hospitality's portfolio consists of 223 hotels with more than 29,400 guest rooms located in 87 markets throughout 37 states as well as one property leased to third parties.