Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) Raised to Buy at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $17.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price target of $16.00.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Friday, November 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.60.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

APLE opened at $15.43 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.15 and a beta of 1.13. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 52 week low of $13.60 and a 52 week high of $16.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.22). Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 14.53%. The firm had revenue of $378.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is presently 112.94%.

Institutional Trading of Apple Hospitality REIT

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.9% during 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 buying an additional 718,844 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,651,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,285,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 422,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,273,000 after acquiring an additional 229,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.0% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 2,099,877 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,183,000 after purchasing an additional 207,256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

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.