RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Director Patricia L. Gibson Purchases 10,000 Shares

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Director Patricia L. Gibson bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.03 per share, with a total value of $80,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 124,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $997,462.51. This represents a 8.76 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 1.4 %

RLJ stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $7.91. The company had a trading volume of 5,723,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,619,906. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $7.80 and a 52 week high of $11.99. The company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.57.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.66 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.59%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 222.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RLJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.82.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 282,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.4% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 389,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 192,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

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.