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

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.80.

APLE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Bank of America upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APLE opened at $13.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.12. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 12 month low of $13.11 and a 12 month high of $16.83.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last announced its quarterly 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, research analysts forecast that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 128.1% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.