Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the four analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $16.50.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Down 0.5 %

Apple Hospitality REIT stock opened at $14.54 on Friday. Apple Hospitality REIT has a fifty-two week low of $13.60 and a fifty-two week high of $16.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.22). Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 14.53%. The firm had revenue of $378.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is currently 112.94%.

Institutional Trading of Apple Hospitality REIT

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 127.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,302 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 4,406.5% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 5,420 shares during the last quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the 2nd quarter worth $99,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 1,831 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

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.