Short Interest in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Rises By 5.2%

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,460,000 shares, a growth of 5.2% from the March 31st total of 9,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Apple Hospitality REIT stock opened at $14.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 12-month low of $14.22 and a 12-month high of $17.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is currently 123.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,369,907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $542,574,000 after acquiring an additional 2,476,241 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,298,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $119,553,000 after purchasing an additional 247,110 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,325,652 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $81,696,000 after purchasing an additional 43,920 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,134,029 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $63,416,000 after purchasing an additional 45,582 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 17.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,375,459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,746,000 after purchasing an additional 502,472 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APLE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered Apple Hospitality REIT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered Apple Hospitality REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.40.

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.