XTX Topco Ltd Takes Position in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 45,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hazelview Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the first quarter worth about $82,000. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $139,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 3,052 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the second quarter worth $158,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Up 0.8 %

RLJ Lodging Trust stock opened at $9.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.36, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. RLJ Lodging Trust has a fifty-two week low of $8.79 and a fifty-two week high of $12.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.14.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.06%. This is a boost from RLJ Lodging Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 214.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Compass Point cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $10.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.25.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

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.