RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.6429.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $9.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Barclays started coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Baird R W lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 price target (down from $9.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Friday, October 3rd.

Insider Transactions at RLJ Lodging Trust

In other RLJ Lodging Trust news, Director Robin Mcbride Zeigler sold 13,413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.51, for a total value of $100,731.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 37,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RLJ. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.9% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 576,941 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 5,401 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the second quarter worth about $399,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position 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 worth $16,614,000 after purchasing an additional 614,166 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,977,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,238,000 after purchasing an additional 137,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 191.1% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 740,265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,389,000 after buying an additional 485,991 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RLJ opened at $7.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $7.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.42. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.50 and a beta of 1.13. RLJ Lodging Trust has a one year low of $6.16 and a one year high of $10.24.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 1.78% and a net margin of 2.48%.The firm had revenue of $330.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,200.00%.

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.