RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $9.00 to $9.50. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the stock. RLJ Lodging Trust traded as high as $12.04 and last traded at $12.0150, with a volume of 172970 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.91.

RLJ has been the topic of several other reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 price objective (up from $10.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group set a $13.00 target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.61.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 3,347 shares in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 166.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 2,887 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of -1,218.40 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 2.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $10.80 and its 200-day moving average is $8.90.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $339.98 million during 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%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -6,000.00%.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

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.