RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.6429.

Several brokerages have commented on RLJ. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price target (down previously from $9.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Raymond James Financial raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $9.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays assumed coverage on RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other RLJ Lodging Trust news, Director Robin Mcbride Zeigler sold 13,413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.51, for a total transaction of $100,731.63. Following the sale, the director directly owned 37,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $279,064.09. The trade was a 26.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 28.3% during the second quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 7,423,055 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,942 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,204,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,469,000 after purchasing an additional 226,335 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,042,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $21,903,000 after purchasing an additional 759,913 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,363,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,208,000 after buying an additional 701,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 22.3% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,201,825 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,853,000 after buying an additional 401,189 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RLJ opened at $7.28 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $7.59 and a 200-day moving average of $7.43. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.50 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $6.16 and a 1 year high of $10.06.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $330.05 million during 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 firm’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,200.00%.

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.