RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.82.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RLJ opened at $7.13 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.93 and a 200 day moving average of $9.15. 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 market cap of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.51. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12 month low of $6.16 and a 12 month high of $11.16.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.36. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The firm had revenue of $329.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.66 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is presently 222.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Patricia L. Gibson acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.03 per share, for a total transaction of $80,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 124,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $997,462.51. This represents a 8.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RLJ. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 402.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $111,000. 92.35% of the stock is currently 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.