Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stake in RLJ Lodging Trust $RLJ

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 64.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 92,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 167,375 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.9% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 576,941 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 5,401 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $399,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $971,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,977,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,238,000 after purchasing an additional 137,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,800,636 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,109,000 after purchasing an additional 198,568 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robin Mcbride Zeigler sold 13,413 shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.51, for a total value of $100,731.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 37,159 shares in the company, valued at $279,064.09. The trade was a 26.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE RLJ opened at $7.33 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 146.50 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.36. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12-month low of $6.16 and a 12-month high of $10.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $330.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.13 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 1.78% and a net margin of 2.48%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1,200.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price objective (down previously from $9.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, RLJ Lodging Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.08.

RLJ Lodging Trust 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.