RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an outperform rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $13.90.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RLJ opened at $11.11 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.21. RLJ Lodging Trust has a fifty-two week low of $9.06 and a fifty-two week high of $12.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 3.46.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $319.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.34 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.79% and a net margin of 5.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. Analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hazelview Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,000. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the third quarter worth $98,000. Metis Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $122,000. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $128,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $138,000. 92.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.