RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Compass Point lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $10.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and cut their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $12.14.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:RLJ opened at $9.15 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1-year low of $8.79 and a 1-year high of $12.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.68, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.69.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.25). RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 4.93%. The company had revenue of $369.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from RLJ Lodging Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.56%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 214.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 27,568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,903 shares in the last quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 64,665 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,015 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 107,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.