Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) Downgraded to "Sell" Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on APLE. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. 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 note on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $16.50.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,824,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,062,739. 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 $17.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 1.11. The business's 50-day moving average is $14.94 and its 200 day moving average is $14.65.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $378.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.56 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.16%. Apple Hospitality REIT's payout ratio is 112.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 127.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,302 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 40.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,712 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 115.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,314 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,313 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 4,406.5% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 5,420 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, 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.