RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) to Issue $0.15 Quarterly Dividend

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 14th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the real estate investment trust on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.86%.

RLJ Lodging Trust has increased its dividend payment by an average of 307.9% per year over the last three years. RLJ Lodging Trust has a payout ratio of 305.3% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect RLJ Lodging Trust to earn $1.42 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.58 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.8%.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

NYSE RLJ opened at $8.74 on Friday. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $8.46 and a 1 year high of $12.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.62.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.36. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The business had revenue of $329.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.66 million. Analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RLJ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.79.

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.