Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. Declares Monthly Dividend of $0.08 (NYSE:APLE)

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) announced a monthly dividend on Friday, December 20th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 0.08 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st.

Apple Hospitality REIT has a payout ratio of 112.9% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Apple Hospitality REIT to earn $1.65 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 58.2%.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Up 1.8 %

Apple Hospitality REIT stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.61. 5,722,984 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,032,747. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 12-month low of $13.60 and a 12-month high of $17.30. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Apple Hospitality REIT from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.