Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stock Position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 62.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,418 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 32,300 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $1,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 127.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,302 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 2,986 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 115.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,313 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 4,406.5% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 5,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on APLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.25.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

Shares of APLE stock opened at $15.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $14.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 1.12. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.60 and a 12 month high of $17.90.

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 return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 14.91%. The business had revenue of $390.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $388.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.61 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, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.09%.

Insider Transactions at Apple Hospitality REIT

In related news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.04 per share, with a total value of $70,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 636,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,943,339.60. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

About Apple Hospitality REIT

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.