Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.25.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush assumed coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Apple Hospitality REIT from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Apple Hospitality REIT from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

APLE opened at $14.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72 and a beta of 1.12. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.92. Apple Hospitality REIT has a fifty-two week low of $13.60 and a fifty-two week high of $17.90.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released 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 for 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.68%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is currently 111.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Glade M. Knight acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.04 per share, for a total transaction of $70,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 636,990 shares in the company, valued at $8,943,339.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple Hospitality REIT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APLE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,555,550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $582,400,000 after buying an additional 1,217,142 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,398,673 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,192,000 after buying an additional 253,082 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,298,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $119,553,000 after buying an additional 247,110 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 17.2% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,019,115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $87,518,000 after buying an additional 881,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 4.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,375,016 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,072,000 after buying an additional 154,159 shares during the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.