Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys 285,700 Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust $RLJ

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 2,111.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 299,232 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 285,700 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $2,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.1% in 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 buying an additional 2,463,189 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.1% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 114,163 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.0% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 74,252 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.1% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 94,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 33.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,042,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $21,903,000 after acquiring an additional 759,913 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RLJ stock opened at $11.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.54 and a 200-day moving average of $9.35. RLJ Lodging Trust has a one year low of $6.54 and a one year high of $12.89.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on RLJ. Wall Street Zen raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 7th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $9.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.94.

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.