RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.68.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:RLJ opened at $7.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $7.36 and a 200-day moving average of $8.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.50. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $6.16 and a 52 week high of $10.84.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $328.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $328.08 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. Analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 230.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLJ Lodging Trust

In other RLJ Lodging Trust news, Director Patricia L. Gibson purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.03 per share, with a total value of $80,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 124,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $997,462.51. This represents a 8.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 282,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 41,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 222,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.