Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 7,520 Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,601 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,520 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RLJ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,728,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $242,097,000 after purchasing an additional 183,408 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,358,968 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,884,000 after buying an additional 48,091 shares during the period. HG Vora Capital Management LLC bought a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $31,818,000. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.8% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,539,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,071,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $11,324,000. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RLJ opened at $11.11 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.21. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1-year low of $9.06 and a 1-year high of $12.39. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.71.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on RLJ shares. StockNews.com cut RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.90.

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.