Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

Separately, Bank of America downgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $19.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.40.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

APLE opened at $14.70 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 1 year low of $14.22 and a 1 year high of $17.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $329.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.68 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.54%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,369,907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $542,574,000 after acquiring an additional 2,476,241 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter worth $36,260,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,040,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $108,003,000 after buying an additional 1,170,865 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 52.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,303,878 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,341,000 after buying an additional 795,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 47.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,105,783 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,977,000 after buying an additional 678,905 shares in the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.