RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $10.92.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RLJ opened at $9.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77 and a beta of 1.70. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $8.74 and a 1 year high of $12.39. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.60.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.23). RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 5.19%. The firm had revenue of $345.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $342.93 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.13%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 206.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RLJ. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the second quarter valued at about $330,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 227,058 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,180,000 after acquiring an additional 34,828 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $439,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 393,842 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,793,000 after purchasing an additional 75,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 9.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 571,240 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,501,000 after purchasing an additional 47,475 shares during the period. 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.