RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $10.70 and last traded at $10.6050, with a volume of 813095 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $10.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on RLJ. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $8.50 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.67.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,061.50 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $8.55 and its 200 day moving average is $8.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 2.89.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -6,000.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.1% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 2,463,189 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.5% in 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 buying an additional 226,335 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.1% in 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 buying an additional 114,163 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $27,637,000 after buying an additional 74,252 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $23,299,000 after buying an additional 94,291 shares during the period. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.