RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Downgraded to “Sell” at StockNews.com

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Compass Point downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.25.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

RLJ opened at $9.89 on Friday. RLJ Lodging Trust has a fifty-two week low of $8.79 and a fifty-two week high of $12.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.33 and a 200 day moving average of $10.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.32, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.70.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.25). RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 3.34%. The company had revenue of $369.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $1,144,000. Quarry LP grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 197.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,627 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 7.3% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 245,999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 16,832 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 50.9% during the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 860,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,282,000 after purchasing an additional 290,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 9.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 571,240 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,501,000 after purchasing an additional 47,475 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

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.