Xponance Inc. Grows Stock Position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,413 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 80.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,541 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at $159,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter valued at $167,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 11,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on APLE. Bank of America raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of APLE opened at $12.86 on Friday. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.76 and a 1-year high of $16.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.06.

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

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

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.