Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) to Issue $0.08 Monthly Dividend

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.66%. The ex-dividend date 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% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. 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 Stock Performance

Shares of APLE stock opened at $14.42 on Wednesday. Apple Hospitality REIT has a one year low of $13.60 and a one year high of $16.99. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.23 and a 200-day moving average of $15.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last posted 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 firm 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLE has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.80.

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.