Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $12.96 and last traded at $12.99, with a volume of 589790 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APLE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 note on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.08.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.11 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 14.53%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,590,568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,465,000 after acquiring an additional 133,505 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,067,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 118.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 422,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,273,000 after purchasing an additional 229,293 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 44,346.3% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 24,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 23,947 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.