RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America lowered their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Compass Point downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $10.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and lowered their target price for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $12.25.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RLJ opened at $9.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.70. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1-year low of $8.79 and a 1-year high of $12.39.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $369.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.67 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 4.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from RLJ Lodging Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 214.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLJ. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 197.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares during the period. Hazelview Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $82,000. BOKF NA purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $139,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company Profile

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns primarily premium-branded, high-margin, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The Company's portfolio currently consists of 96 hotels with approximately 21,200 rooms, located in 23 states and the District of Columbia and an ownership interest in one unconsolidated hotel with 171 rooms.