CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Increases Position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 499,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 30,123 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.21% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $7,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 80.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 8,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 3,725 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of APLE stock opened at $11.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93 and a beta of 1.00. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.44 and a 1 year high of $16.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.11 million. Research analysts predict 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 declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.11%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is 109.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on APLE. Bank of America upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple Hospitality REIT currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT 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.