Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $1.45 Million Holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust $RLJ

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 1,871.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 201,603 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 191,377 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $1,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 28.3% in the second quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 7,423,055 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,040,000 after buying an additional 1,637,942 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.8% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,977,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,238,000 after acquiring an additional 137,014 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,363,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,208,000 after purchasing an additional 701,535 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,282,101 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,614,000 after purchasing an additional 614,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,800,636 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,109,000 after purchasing an additional 198,568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RLJ. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays assumed coverage on RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $6.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.64.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RLJ stock opened at $8.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 165.80 and a beta of 1.12. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $6.16 and a 1 year high of $9.81. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,200.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLJ Lodging Trust

In related news, Director Robin Mcbride Zeigler sold 13,413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.51, for a total transaction of $100,731.63. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 37,159 shares in the company, valued at $279,064.09. The trade was a 26.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Profile

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-managed, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and operates premium-branded, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The company’s portfolio is concentrated in major U.S. markets, targeting properties that benefit from strong corporate and leisure demand, limited new supply and established brand affiliations.

The trust’s hotels are affiliated with leading global lodging brands across the spectrum of service levels, including lifestyle and upscale segments.