Short Interest in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Drops By 7.8%

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,660,000 shares, a decrease of 7.8% from the May 31st total of 10,480,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.83.

Insider Activity

In other Apple Hospitality REIT news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.78 per share, for a total transaction of $73,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 631,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,340,812.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 38,414 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel grew its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 4.5% during the first quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 26,799 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the first quarter valued at about $565,000. EMC Capital Management lifted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 196.3% during the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 24,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 15,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Trading LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 1st quarter valued at about $168,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of APLE stock traded down $0.07 on Wednesday, hitting $14.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 658,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,067,334. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Apple Hospitality REIT has a fifty-two week low of $13.96 and a fifty-two week high of $17.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.70.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.12). Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.58% and a return on equity of 6.11%. The company had revenue of $329.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.76%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.63%.

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.