RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Price Target Raised to $8.00

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) had its price objective hoisted by Truist Financial from $7.00 to $8.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

RLJ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.50.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Up 0.7%

RLJ stock opened at $7.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.64. The company has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.40 and a beta of 1.50. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12 month low of $6.16 and a 12 month high of $10.84.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $363.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.30 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.03% and a net margin of 4.23%.RLJ Lodging Trust’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. RLJ Lodging Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.380-1.580 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 285.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings 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 valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 1,452 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 222,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 55.2% during the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,870 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 56,709 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 2,048 shares during the period. Finally, M&G PLC boosted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.2% in the second quarter. M&G PLC now owns 22,510 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 2,260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

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.