RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

RLJ has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, RLJ Lodging Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.68.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE RLJ opened at $7.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 25.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $7.67 and its 200 day moving average is $9.07. RLJ Lodging Trust has a twelve month low of $6.16 and a twelve month high of $10.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $328.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 previous year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.12%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is 222.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLJ Lodging Trust

In other news, Director Patricia L. Gibson purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 124,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $997,462.51. This represents a 8.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of 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 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 402.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 2,944 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter worth $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

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.