Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 255,984 Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust $RLJ

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 7.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,056,956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 255,984 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $22,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 576,941 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 5,401 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 5.4% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 101,739 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $803,000 after acquiring an additional 5,209 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the first quarter worth approximately $551,000. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $399,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $971,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

NYSE RLJ opened at $7.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.48. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52-week low of $6.16 and a 52-week high of $10.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.36.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 3.03%. The company had revenue of $330.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on RLJ shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 target price (down previously from $9.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, RLJ Lodging Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robin Mcbride Zeigler sold 13,413 shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.51, for a total value of $100,731.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 37,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $279,064.09. This trade represents a 26.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.