Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on APLE. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on 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. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.25.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APLE opened at $15.74 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Apple Hospitality REIT has a one year low of $13.60 and a one year high of $17.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $378.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.56 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 14.91%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is currently 112.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.5% in the 1st 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 grew its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.5% in 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 last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,737,959 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $100,059,000 after purchasing an additional 718,844 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,375,016 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,072,000 after purchasing an additional 154,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,572,043 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,398,000 after purchasing an additional 53,300 shares during the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by 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.