Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (APLE) To Go Ex-Dividend on July 31st

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) announced a monthly dividend on Thursday, July 18th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of 0.08 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st.

Apple Hospitality REIT has a payout ratio of 109.1% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Apple Hospitality REIT to earn $1.40 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 68.6%.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

APLE opened at $14.99 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.42. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Hospitality REIT has a 1-year low of $13.95 and a 1-year high of $17.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.12). Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.58% and a return on equity of 6.11%. The firm had revenue of $329.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Wedbush initiated coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.78 per share, with a total value of $73,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 631,990 shares in the company, valued at $9,340,812.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

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.