RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $7.43 and traded as high as $7.69. RLJ Lodging Trust shares last traded at $7.5950, with a volume of 1,417,763 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on RLJ shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays began coverage on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird reiterated 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 shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.64.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 151.90 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.43.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 1.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.9%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,200.00%.

Insider Activity at RLJ Lodging Trust

In related news, Director Robin Mcbride Zeigler sold 13,413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 37,159 shares in the company, valued at $279,064.09. This represents a 26.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RLJ. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 90,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 9,983 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 993,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,839,000 after acquiring an additional 103,065 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,000. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 45,799 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 3,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 53,559 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 10,147 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.