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

Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $11.86 and last traded at $11.92, with a volume of 1232767 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on APLE. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 1.12.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $333.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.11 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 14.53%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.35%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Institutional Trading of Apple Hospitality REIT

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,239,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $126,472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761,996 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,767,740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $103,885,000 after acquiring an additional 29,781 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,761,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,571,000 after acquiring an additional 62,149 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,243,575 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $77,867,000 after acquiring an additional 18,858 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,590,568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,465,000 after purchasing an additional 133,505 shares in the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.