QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 157,397 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,446 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned 0.07% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $2,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of APLE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 4.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,457,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,187,000 after buying an additional 182,917 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the third quarter valued at about $1,067,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 118.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 422,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,273,000 after buying an additional 229,293 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 29.6% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 474,672 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,049,000 after buying an additional 108,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 2,541 shares in the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on APLE shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of APLE opened at $14.79 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.18 and a 200-day moving average of $15.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.60 and a 52 week high of $16.99.

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

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.49%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is 109.09%.

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.