Brokerages Set Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Price Target at $17.83

Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.83.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on APLE. Wedbush began coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APLE opened at $14.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.74. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Hospitality REIT has a fifty-two week low of $13.96 and a fifty-two week high of $17.90.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.12). Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.11% and a net margin of 14.58%. The business had revenue of $329.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.60%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is presently 111.63%.

Insider Activity at Apple Hospitality REIT

In other news, Chairman Glade M. Knight acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.78 per share, for a total transaction of $73,900.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 631,990 shares in the company, valued at $9,340,812.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 7.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,369,907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $542,574,000 after buying an additional 2,476,241 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter worth $36,260,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 47.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,105,783 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,977,000 after acquiring an additional 678,905 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,375,459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,746,000 after purchasing an additional 502,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,928,229 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,579,000 after purchasing an additional 381,860 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

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.