Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Boosts Stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 144.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 40,366 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 569.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,805 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 128.1% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter worth $64,000. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Up 1.0%

APLE opened at $12.57 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $11.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91 and a beta of 1.04. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $10.44 and a one year high of $16.50.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 5.84% and a net margin of 13.38%. The business had revenue of $327.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.86 million. Analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a jul 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 7.7%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Glade M. Knight acquired 10,000 shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.43 per share, for a total transaction of $114,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 700,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,004,931.92. The trade was a 1.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $137,120 in the last quarter. 7.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BMO Capital Markets downgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.75.

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.