RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on RLJ. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.92.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Up 1.4 %

RLJ Lodging Trust stock opened at $9.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.67 and a beta of 1.68. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52-week low of $8.74 and a 52-week high of $12.39.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $345.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.93 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.14%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is currently 206.90%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,592,272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,977,000 after purchasing an additional 170,484 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 97.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 271,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,495,000 after acquiring an additional 134,093 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,166,593 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,429,000 after acquiring an additional 240,254 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 22.3% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 44,682 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 8,136 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $275,000. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by 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.