Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 98,673 Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,690,945 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 98,673 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 2.41% of RLJ Lodging Trust worth $37,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter worth $107,000. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 31.0% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 15,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 3,738 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter worth $277,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter worth $351,000. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Up 2.9 %

RLJ stock opened at $8.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.62. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $8.46 and a 52 week high of $12.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 222.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RLJ shares. StockNews.com raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.