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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLE. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.9% during 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. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at $4,651,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the third quarter worth about $4,285,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 118.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 422,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,273,000 after purchasing an additional 229,293 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake 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 worth $31,183,000 after purchasing an additional 207,256 shares in the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APLE traded down $0.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $15.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,769,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,734,699. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 52 week low of $13.60 and a 52 week high of $16.99.

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

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.