Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) Coverage Initiated at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT with a neutral rating and a $15 price target, implying modest upside from the current share price.
• The stock has a broader analyst consensus of Hold, with 3 Buy ratings and 6 Hold ratings; the consensus price target stands at $13.56.
• Apple Hospitality REIT recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $0.12 EPS versus the $0.11 estimate and revenue of $337.74 million above forecasts.

Research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Monday. The brokerage set a "neutral" rating and a $15.00 price target on the real estate investment trust's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.12% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.56.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of APLE opened at $14.69 on Monday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $13.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 12-month low of $10.85 and a 12-month high of $15.08.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $337.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.81 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 12.08%. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Apple Hospitality REIT news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.96 per share, for a total transaction of $69,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 747,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,430,786.36. The trade was a 0.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 20.1% in the first quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,244 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 16,269 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 6.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,049,081 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $23,585,000 after acquiring an additional 115,575 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 2.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 155,765 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 28.6% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 278,185 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,202,000 after acquiring an additional 61,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 8.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 183,434 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,112,000 after acquiring an additional 13,701 shares in the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Hospitality REIT Company Profile

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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