RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.5625.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on RLJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 price target (up from $10.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RLJ. Amundi increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 9,983 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.6% in 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 buying an additional 103,065 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,248,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,634,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,897,000 after buying an additional 526,172 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 3,347 shares during the period. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

Shares of RLJ opened at $11.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of -1,183.20 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.67 and its 200-day moving average is $8.42. RLJ Lodging Trust has a fifty-two week low of $6.54 and a fifty-two week high of $12.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.89.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $339.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.51 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 1.37%. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -6,000.00%.

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.