Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $13.43 Million Stock Holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,315,588 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,258 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $13,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 203,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 10,400 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $1,038,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $5,426,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 13,659 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 174,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 22,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RLJ opened at $7.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1-year low of $7.79 and a 1-year high of $11.99.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.36. The company had revenue of $329.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.66 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 5.19%. Analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 222.22%.

Insider Activity at RLJ Lodging Trust

In other RLJ Lodging Trust news, Director Patricia L. Gibson bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.03 per share, with a total value of $80,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 124,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $997,462.51. The trade was a 8.76 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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. KeyCorp decreased their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.82.

RLJ Lodging Trust 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.