Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) Price Target to $15.00

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $16.00 to $15.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.34% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wedbush assumed coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.25.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of APLE stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.24. The company had a trading volume of 129,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,099,697. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.12. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 52 week low of $13.60 and a 52 week high of $17.90.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $390.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $388.82 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 14.91%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Glade M. Knight acquired 5,000 shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.04 per share, with a total value of $70,200.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 636,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,943,339.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLE. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 127.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,302 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 2,986 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,493 shares during the period. 89.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.