Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Stock Price

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $7.00 to $9.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 8.69% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on RLJ. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Raymond James Financial lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $8.50 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.67.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

NYSE:RLJ traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $9.86. 120,203 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,133,486. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $8.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of -984.30 and a beta of 1.13. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12-month low of $6.54 and a 12-month high of $10.10.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 1.37%. The company had revenue of $339.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 13,140,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,899,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463,189 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,204,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,469,000 after purchasing an additional 226,335 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,844,974 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,650,000 after purchasing an additional 114,163 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,709,660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,637,000 after purchasing an additional 74,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,127,412 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,299,000 after purchasing an additional 94,291 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company 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.