Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Plans $0.08 Monthly Dividend

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) declared a monthly dividend on Thursday, December 19th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 0.08 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st.

Apple Hospitality REIT has a payout ratio of 112.9% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Apple Hospitality REIT to earn $1.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 58.2%.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

APLE stock opened at $15.61 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.88. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 1-year low of $13.60 and a 1-year high of $17.30. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $378.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.56 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APLE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Apple Hospitality REIT from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple Hospitality REIT has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.80.

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.