Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $13.49 and last traded at $13.54, with a volume of 524873 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets began 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 objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 1.12. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.15.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is 109.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 4.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,457,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,187,000 after acquiring an additional 182,917 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,067,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 118.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 422,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,273,000 after acquiring an additional 229,293 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 29.6% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 474,672 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,049,000 after purchasing an additional 108,523 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares during the period. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.