Allianz Asset Management GmbH Acquires 401,189 Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust $RLJ

Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,201,825 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 401,189 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 1.46% of RLJ Lodging Trust worth $15,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RLJ. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 3,347 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,870 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the second quarter valued at about $76,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the second quarter valued at about $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock opened at $8.00 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.43. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1-year low of $6.16 and a 1-year high of $9.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 160.00 and a beta of 1.12.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 1.78% and a net margin of 2.48%.The company had revenue of $330.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.13 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,200.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robin Mcbride Zeigler sold 13,413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.51, for a total transaction of $100,731.63. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 37,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $279,064.09. This represents a 26.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on RLJ shares. Barclays began coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.64.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-managed, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and operates premium-branded, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The company’s portfolio is concentrated in major U.S. markets, targeting properties that benefit from strong corporate and leisure demand, limited new supply and established brand affiliations.

The trust’s hotels are affiliated with leading global lodging brands across the spectrum of service levels, including lifestyle and upscale segments.