RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research cut RLJ Lodging Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Truist Financial cut their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.92.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RLJ stock opened at $9.92 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.20 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.58. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $8.74 and a 52 week high of $12.39. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.23). RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The company had revenue of $345.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.05%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 206.90%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RLJ. State Street Corp lifted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,397,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $68,999,000 after buying an additional 340,271 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,166,593 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,429,000 after acquiring an additional 240,254 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 46.6% during the third quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 4,855,122 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,570,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543,848 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,930,177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,085,000 after purchasing an additional 44,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 5.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,592,272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,977,000 after purchasing an additional 170,484 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.