RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

by · The Cerbat Gem

StockNews.com cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ – Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. 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 cut their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.50.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on RLJ Lodging Trust

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

RLJ Lodging Trust stock opened at $9.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. RLJ Lodging Trust has a twelve month low of $8.74 and a twelve month high of $12.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $10.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.56. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.70.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $345.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $342.93 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is 206.90%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RLJ. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 131.1% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 1,878,616 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 294.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 841,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,727,000 after buying an additional 628,157 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 25.1% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,991,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $18,283,000 after buying an additional 400,100 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,397,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $68,999,000 after buying an additional 340,271 shares during the period. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 50.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 860,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,282,000 after acquiring an additional 290,000 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

(Get Free Report)

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.

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