Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,460,000 shares, a growth of 6.1% from the August 15th total of 12,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on APLE. Wedbush initiated coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Apple Hospitality REIT from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Glade M. Knight acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.04 per share, for a total transaction of $70,200.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 636,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,943,339.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter worth about $36,260,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,555,550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $582,400,000 after buying an additional 1,217,142 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 347,717 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,696,000 after buying an additional 35,166 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the first quarter worth $338,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 186,232 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,050,000 after acquiring an additional 2,436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

NYSE APLE traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, reaching $14.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,857,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,104,009. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72 and a beta of 1.12. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 12-month low of $13.60 and a 12-month high of $17.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $14.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.13). Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.91% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The business had revenue of $390.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $388.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio is presently 111.63%.

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.