RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.6667.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RLJ. Weiss Ratings raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays raised their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock opened at $10.62 on Wednesday. RLJ Lodging Trust has a one year low of $6.54 and a one year high of $10.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,062.20 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.08.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 1.37% and a net margin of 1.84%.The firm had revenue of $339.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.51 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. RLJ Lodging Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -6,000.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RLJ. Amundi raised its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 90,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 9,983 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 993,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,839,000 after purchasing an additional 103,065 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,248,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,634,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,897,000 after purchasing an additional 526,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 3,347 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-managed, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and operates premium-branded, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The company’s portfolio is concentrated in major U.S. markets, targeting properties that benefit from strong corporate and leisure demand, limited new supply and established brand affiliations.

The trust’s hotels are affiliated with leading global lodging brands across the spectrum of service levels, including lifestyle and upscale segments.