Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Acquires 33,924 Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 38.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 121,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 33,924 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $1,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter valued at $4,651,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,285,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,844,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 118.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 422,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,273,000 after acquiring an additional 229,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.0% in the third 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

APLE opened at $13.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50-day moving average is $14.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.09. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.01 and a 1 year high of $16.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.11 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.26%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLE has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT 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.