RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Declares $0.10 Quarterly Dividend

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, June 14th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of 0.10 per share by the real estate investment trust on Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th.

RLJ Lodging Trust has a payout ratio of 153.8% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect RLJ Lodging Trust to earn $1.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.3%.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

NYSE RLJ traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $9.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 55,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,058. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12 month low of $9.06 and a 12 month high of $12.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.22. The company has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.58.

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.