New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Invests $3.05 Million in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 198,917 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $3,053,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,099,000. BCO Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter worth $210,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 148,103 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,245,000 after acquiring an additional 5,894 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter valued at $905,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter worth $1,033,000. 89.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

APLE stock opened at $12.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 1.12. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.06. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.76 and a 1 year high of $16.51.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. The company had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.11 million. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.09%.

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.