Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (APLE) To Go Ex-Dividend on February 28th

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) announced a monthly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of 0.08 per share by the real estate investment trust on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th.

Apple Hospitality REIT has increased its dividend by an average of 188.5% annually over the last three years. Apple Hospitality REIT has a dividend payout ratio of 110.3% 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 analysts expect Apple Hospitality REIT to earn $1.62 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 59.3%.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Down 1.4 %

APLE stock opened at $14.42 on Wednesday. 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. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 1.13.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $333.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.11 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on APLE shares. StockNews.com raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Bank of America raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple Hospitality REIT presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” 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.