Aurora Investment Counsel Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 182.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 75,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,003 shares during the quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APLE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,555,550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $582,400,000 after buying an additional 1,217,142 shares during the period. Masterton Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the second quarter worth about $3,378,000. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 347,717 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,696,000 after acquiring an additional 35,166 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 1st quarter worth about $338,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 186,232 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of APLE opened at $14.85 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.60 and a twelve month high of $17.90. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 1.12.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.13). Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 14.91%. The business had revenue of $390.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $388.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.47%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on APLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wedbush started coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Apple Hospitality REIT from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.25.

Insider Activity at Apple Hospitality REIT

In related news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.04 per share, for a total transaction of $70,200.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 636,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,943,339.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.