Short Interest in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Decreases By 11.0%

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) saw a significant 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 short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple Hospitality REIT news, Chairman Glade M. Knight bought 5,000 shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.04 per share, for a total transaction of $70,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 636,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,943,339.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple Hospitality REIT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the second quarter valued at about $348,000. Aurora Investment Counsel raised its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 182.9% in the 2nd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 75,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 49,003 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 8.2% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 77,165 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 5,856 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 127.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,302 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the second quarter valued at approximately $337,000. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock opened at $15.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60 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 has a 12-month low of $13.60 and a 12-month high of $17.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $14.45 and its 200-day moving average is $14.83.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $388.82 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is currently 111.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Apple Hospitality REIT from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Wedbush started coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.25.

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.