RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America lowered their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Compass Point downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $12.69.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

RLJ Lodging Trust stock opened at $9.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.93, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.45. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $8.80 and a 52 week high of $12.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.25). RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 3.34%. The business had revenue of $369.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.32%. This is a boost from RLJ Lodging Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 142.86%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RLJ. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 125,080 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 12,348 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,435 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $168,000. Metis Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $122,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 97,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 20,800 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.