Strs Ohio Purchases 150,000 Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. $APLE

Strs Ohio boosted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 979,334 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $11,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLE. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 285.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,350,787 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,764,000 after buying an additional 1,000,214 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,794,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,129,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 92,006 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 23,761 shares during the period. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 2nd quarter worth $5,248,000. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple Hospitality REIT

In other news, Chairman Glade M. Knight acquired 5,000 shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.91 per share, with a total value of $59,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 710,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,460,197.04. This represents a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders bought 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $95,180 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

Shares of APLE opened at $12.30 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85 and a beta of 0.85. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.44 and a twelve month high of $16.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.08.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $373.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $371.94 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 5.46%. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is 131.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on APLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Apple Hospitality REIT to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays began coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $11.50 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.92.

Apple Hospitality REIT Company Profile

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE: APLE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that focuses on acquiring, owning and operating high-quality, upscale, select-service hotels. The company’s portfolio primarily consists of properties operated under premium franchise agreements with leading lodging brands such as Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt. Apple Hospitality REIT is self-managed and internally advised, overseeing property management, revenue optimization and asset-level operations through its in-house team of hospitality professionals.

The company’s holdings encompass over 200 hotels featuring more than 30,000 guest rooms across a diverse array of markets in the United States.