Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on APLE. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price target on Apple Hospitality REIT from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.00.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of APLE stock opened at $16.78 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.87. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 1 year low of $10.85 and a 1 year high of $17.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.65.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $337.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.81 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 12.08%. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 131.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.96 per share, with a total value of $69,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman owned 747,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,430,786.36. This represents a 0.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple Hospitality REIT

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLE. Palouse Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,304 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 7.9% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.4% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 240,111 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.4% during the second quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 80,287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 13,519 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Company Profile

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE: APLE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that focuses on acquiring, owning and operating high-quality, upscale, select-service hotels. The company’s portfolio primarily consists of properties operated under premium franchise agreements with leading lodging brands such as Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt. Apple Hospitality REIT is self-managed and internally advised, overseeing property management, revenue optimization and asset-level operations through its in-house team of hospitality professionals.

The company’s holdings encompass over 200 hotels featuring more than 30,000 guest rooms across a diverse array of markets in the United States.