Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.25.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

Shares of APLE stock traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $15.74. 4,405,873 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,065,199. The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.63. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 1 year low of $13.60 and a 1 year high of $17.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.22). Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.91% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The firm had revenue of $378.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Apple Hospitality REIT news, Chairman Glade M. Knight bought 5,000 shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.04 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APLE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,555,550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $582,400,000 after buying an additional 1,217,142 shares during the last quarter. Masterton Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the second quarter worth $3,378,000. Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.3% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 347,717 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,696,000 after buying an additional 35,166 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the first quarter worth $338,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 4.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,375,016 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,072,000 after buying an additional 154,159 shares during the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.