RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.81.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RLJ shares. Weiss Ratings raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Raymond James Financial cut RLJ Lodging Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RLJ stock opened at $12.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 5.71 and a current ratio of 5.71. RLJ Lodging Trust has a one year low of $6.70 and a one year high of $12.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.95.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.38. The business had revenue of $354.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.24 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 1.52% and a net margin of 2.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 234.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,535 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,837 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 54.8% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,705 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 3,081 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) is a self-advised real estate investment trust that owns a portfolio of premium-branded, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The company’s properties primarily operate under brands affiliated with Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide Holdings and Hyatt Hotels, among other major lodging companies.

RLJ’s hotels are generally located in urban and densely populated areas, including major business and leisure markets across the United States. The properties provide guest accommodations and related hospitality services, while independent hotel management companies typically oversee day-to-day operations.

The company was formed in 2011 and is named after Robert L.