RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $12.55 and last traded at $12.55, with a volume of 246 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (up from $10.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.83.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of -1,255.00 and a beta of 1.09. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $11.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.00.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $339.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.51 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 1.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is -6,000.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 13,140,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,899,000 after buying an additional 2,463,189 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,844,974 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,650,000 after acquiring an additional 114,163 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,709,660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,637,000 after acquiring an additional 74,252 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,127,412 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,299,000 after acquiring an additional 94,291 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,042,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $21,903,000 after buying an additional 759,913 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company Profile

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.