Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) Raised to “Buy” at Bank of America

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) was upgraded by Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $17.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price target of $16.00. Bank of America‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 8.25% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.60.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock opened at $15.70 on Monday. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 1-year low of $13.60 and a 1-year high of $16.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $15.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48 and a beta of 1.13.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.22). Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. The business had revenue of $378.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,761,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,571,000 after buying an additional 62,149 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,243,575 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $77,867,000 after buying an additional 18,858 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 4.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,457,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,187,000 after acquiring an additional 182,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 4.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,375,016 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,072,000 after acquiring an additional 154,159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

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.