Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Short Interest Down 20.0% in March

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) saw a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,860,000 shares, a decrease of 20.0% from the February 28th total of 8,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on APLE. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of APLE stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.93. 2,256,767 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,069,318. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.06. Apple Hospitality REIT has a fifty-two week low of $12.65 and a fifty-two week high of $16.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.11 million. Equities analysts expect that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Institutional Trading of Apple Hospitality REIT

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at $255,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter worth about $4,293,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,484,034 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,780,000 after purchasing an additional 22,692 shares in the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.