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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Masterton Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,378,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 154,159 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 4.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,457,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,187,000 after purchasing an additional 182,917 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,067,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 118.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:APLE opened at $15.05 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $15.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 1.13. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 12 month low of $13.60 and a 12 month high of $16.99. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $378.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.38%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on APLE. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.50.

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.