Brokerages Set Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Price Target at $17.40

Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.40.

APLE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of APLE stock opened at $15.01 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Apple Hospitality REIT has a one year low of $13.95 and a one year high of $17.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $329.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is presently 111.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple Hospitality REIT news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.78 per share, for a total transaction of $73,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 631,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,340,812.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple Hospitality REIT

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $582,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,142 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 253,082 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,298,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $119,553,000 after purchasing an additional 247,110 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,260,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.