RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Receives $10.68 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.68.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp decreased their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial cut RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE:RLJ opened at $7.29 on Friday. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $6.16 and a 1 year high of $10.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $7.27 and a 200-day moving average of $8.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 5.19%. The company had revenue of $328.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $328.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.24%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 230.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Patricia L. Gibson bought 10,000 shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.03 per share, with a total value of $80,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 124,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $997,462.51. This trade represents a 8.76% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 402.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $82,000. 92.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company 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.