SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Stock Position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. $APLE

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 91.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 109,512 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,446 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of APLE. Centerbridge Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the second quarter worth about $22,147,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 94.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,935,463 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,255,000 after buying an additional 1,424,287 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the second quarter worth about $15,614,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 285.3% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 763.8% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 648,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,788,000 after buying an additional 573,410 shares in the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APLE. Barclays lowered their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Friday, December 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Apple Hospitality REIT from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.64.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

Shares of APLE opened at $11.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 0.82. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.44 and a 52-week high of $13.27.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $326.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $322.60 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 12.42% and a return on equity of 5.50%. Research analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio is presently 129.73%.

Apple Hospitality REIT 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.