RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.90.

RLJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RLJ opened at $11.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.18. The company has a quick ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.71. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52-week low of $9.06 and a 52-week high of $12.39.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $319.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.34 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.79% and a net margin of 5.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 125.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 129,106 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.5% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.2% during the first quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 64,665 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,015 shares during the last quarter. Hazelview Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $358,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company 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.