RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Downgraded by Truist Financial to Hold

Truist Financial downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $10.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their prior target price of $11.00.

RLJ has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.63.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

RLJ opened at $8.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52-week low of $8.26 and a 52-week high of $12.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.59.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.36. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 5.19%. The firm had revenue of $329.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.66 million. On average, equities 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 Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 222.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 282,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.4% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 389,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 192,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

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.