RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

Several other analysts also recently commented on RLJ. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.92.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

RLJ opened at $9.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.70. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12 month low of $8.74 and a 12 month high of $12.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.56.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $345.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $342.93 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 5.19%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.10%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 206.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 32.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 130,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 32,029 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $340,000. BOKF NA boosted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 129.8% in the 2nd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 27,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 15,426 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 131.1% in the second quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,311,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,888,000 after buying an additional 1,878,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust during the second quarter worth $330,000. 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.