US Bancorp DE Buys 1,417 Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 78.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $33,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RLJ. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 3,738 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $277,000. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $351,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 34,775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 10,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $355,000. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.79.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE RLJ opened at $8.83 on Wednesday. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $8.46 and a 1 year high of $12.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.61.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $329.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.66 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 5.19%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.80%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 222.22%.

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.