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

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) announced a monthly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th.

Apple Hospitality REIT has raised its dividend by an average of 188.5% per year 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. Equities research 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 Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:APLE traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.35. 1,529,235 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,700,635. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.09. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 52-week low of $13.60 and a 52-week high of $16.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 1.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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