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

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) announced a monthly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th,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 annualized dividend 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 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 Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE APLE traded down $0.03 on Wednesday, reaching $15.35. 1,529,081 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,700,631. Apple Hospitality REIT has a fifty-two week low of $13.60 and a fifty-two week high of $16.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $15.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.