Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes Position in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 28,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 282,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 34.9% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,051 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.4% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 389,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,576,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.8% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 225,738 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 192,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:RLJ opened at $9.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.68. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1-year low of $8.74 and a 1-year high of $12.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $9.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.36. The company had revenue of $329.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.66 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. Equities analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.43%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 222.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.79.

RLJ Lodging Trust 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.