Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) Cut to Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has $12.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $14.00.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.75.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APLE opened at $11.64 on Monday. Apple Hospitality REIT has a fifty-two week low of $10.44 and a fifty-two week high of $16.50. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. The business had revenue of $327.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.86 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a may 25 dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 8.3%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.52%.

Insider Transactions at Apple Hospitality REIT

In related news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.43 per share, for a total transaction of $114,300.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 700,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,004,931.92. This trade represents a 1.45% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders purchased a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $137,120 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,395,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 155,289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 41,792 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,588 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 2,238 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 10,235.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,705 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 21,495 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

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.