Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,980,000 shares, a drop of 11.0% from the August 31st total of 13,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.04 per share, with a total value of $70,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $582,400,000 after buying an additional 1,217,142 shares in the last quarter. Masterton Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,378,000. Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.3% in the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 347,717 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,696,000 after acquiring an additional 35,166 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the first quarter worth approximately $338,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 186,232 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of APLE stock opened at $14.85 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.81. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 52 week low of $13.60 and a 52 week high of $17.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.13). Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 14.91%. The firm had revenue of $390.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $388.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.