Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Brokerages place Apple Hospitality REIT at a consensus "Hold" (five holds, three buys) with an average 12‑month price target of $12.64, and several analysts have recently trimmed targets (e.g., Wells Fargo to $12, Barclays to $13) while Cantor Fitzgerald remains more bullish at $14.
• The REIT missed quarterly EPS expectations ($0.13 vs. $0.29) despite a slight revenue beat, and it pays a monthly dividend that annualizes to a 7.4% yield but carries a high payout ratio (~129.7%), raising questions about dividend sustainability.

Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.6429.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on APLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of APLE opened at $13.00 on Friday. Apple Hospitality REIT has a twelve month low of $10.85 and a twelve month high of $13.27. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $12.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.94.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.16). Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 12.42% and a return on equity of 5.50%. The firm had revenue of $326.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $322.60 million. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Apple Hospitality REIT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 129.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,962,856 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $154,627,000 after buying an additional 68,794 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,107,802 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $84,227,000 after buying an additional 127,327 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,721,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,950,000 after buying an additional 1,786,018 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,714,872 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,871,000 after buying an additional 125,759 shares during the period. Finally, Centerbridge Partners L.P. increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Centerbridge Partners L.P. now owns 4,229,785 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,123,000 after buying an additional 1,982,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.66% of the company's stock.

About Apple Hospitality REIT

Apple Hospitality REIT NYSE: APLE is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that focuses on acquiring, owning and operating high-quality, upscale, select-service hotels. The company's portfolio primarily consists of properties operated under premium franchise agreements with leading lodging brands such as Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt. Apple Hospitality REIT is self-managed and internally advised, overseeing property management, revenue optimization and asset-level operations through its in-house team of hospitality professionals.

The company's holdings encompass over 200 hotels featuring more than 30,000 guest rooms across a diverse array of markets in the United States.

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