Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) Chairman Glade Knight Purchases 5,000 Shares

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Chairman Glade Knight bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.96 per share, for a total transaction of $69,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 747,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,430,786.36. This trade represents a 0.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

Shares of APLE opened at $13.81 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 0.88. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $10.85 and a one year high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.15.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $337.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.81 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 12.08% and a return on equity of 5.43%. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 131.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on APLE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Apple Hospitality REIT from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on Apple Hospitality REIT from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Apple Hospitality REIT from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.93.

Institutional Trading of Apple Hospitality REIT

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,962,856 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $154,627,000 after acquiring an additional 68,794 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,107,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $84,227,000 after acquiring an additional 127,327 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,721,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786,018 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,714,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,871,000 after acquiring an additional 125,759 shares during the period. Finally, Centerbridge Partners L.P. increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Centerbridge Partners L.P. now owns 4,229,785 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

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.