StockNews.com Downgrades RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) to Sell

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

RLJ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. One equities 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.90.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

RLJ stock opened at $10.39 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.26. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12-month low of $9.06 and a 12-month high of $12.39. The firm has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.70.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $319.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.34 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.53% and a net margin of 5.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. On average, analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 87,008 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.5% during the first 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. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 326,141 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,209,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 18,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vert Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 62,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.