Apple Hospitality named ‘Top Pick’ in lodging REITs at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer named Apple Hospitality REIT the firm’s “Top Pick” in the lodging real estate investment trust sector. The company has a “high-quality portfolio, well-covered dividend, strong balance sheet, and trades at an inexpensive valuation compared with history,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes Apple’s diversity across 87 markets should help drive “strong, consistent performance” from multiple demand generators. It sees margin upside from improving cost inflation and reiterates an Outperform rating on the shares with a $17 price target