Citigroup Inc. Grows Stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 761,709 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 89,952 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.32% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $11,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Walleye Trading LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the 1st quarter worth $168,000. Burney Co. purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 1st quarter worth about $565,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 38,414 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 86.8% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 148,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 69,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 102,492 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock opened at $16.20 on Friday. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.60 and a 1-year high of $17.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.22). Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. The company had revenue of $378.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.93%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APLE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Apple Hospitality REIT from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.50.

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.