Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 3,219 Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its position in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,219 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of RLJ. Hazelview Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the first quarter worth $82,000. BOKF NA bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the first quarter valued at about $139,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.5% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 32.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the second quarter valued at about $158,000. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock opened at $9.89 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.32, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.70. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $8.79 and a 52 week high of $12.39. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.18.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $369.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.67 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 4.93%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from RLJ Lodging Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is currently 214.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Compass Point lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $18.00 to $10.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.25.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company Profile

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns primarily premium-branded, high-margin, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The Company's portfolio currently consists of 96 hotels with approximately 21,200 rooms, located in 23 states and the District of Columbia and an ownership interest in one unconsolidated hotel with 171 rooms.