New York State Common Retirement Fund Boosts Holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 792,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,781 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.51% of RLJ Lodging Trust worth $9,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ziegler Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 4th quarter worth $984,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 4,772.9% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 1,175,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,800 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter valued at about $747,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,258,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 202.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 985,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,647,000 after purchasing an additional 659,261 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

RLJ stock opened at $10.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 3.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.23. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12 month low of $9.06 and a 12 month high of $12.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.71.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $319.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.34 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.79% and a net margin of 5.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research began coverage on RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.90.

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.