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

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $10.91 and last traded at $10.9590, with a volume of 96134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RLJ. Weiss Ratings upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 7th. Truist Financial increased their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $8.50 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $9.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.17.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,101.50 and a beta of 1.13. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $8.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.14.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $339.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.51 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 1.37% and a net margin of 1.84%.The business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amundi lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 84,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 8,468 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 123.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 128,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $953,000 after buying an additional 70,834 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,111.3% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 299,232 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,220,000 after acquiring an additional 285,700 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 122.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 251,168 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 138,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 17,904 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963 shares during the period. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.