Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Makes New $31,000 Investment in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $159,000. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Up 14.4 %

Shares of NYSE APLE opened at $12.20 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.87. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.00. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.44 and a 1 year high of $16.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.11 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.87%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is 109.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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 on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple Hospitality REIT has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.80.

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.