RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $12.10 and last traded at $11.9450, with a volume of 2055 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RLJ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.56.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of -1,190.50 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.49.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -6,000.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 10,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.3% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 17,904 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 1,963 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 181,568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,353,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 110,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 2,863 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

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.