RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) versus BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS (NYSE:BHR) Financial Contrast

BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS (NYSE:BHR) and RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) are both small-cap real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RLJ Lodging Trust has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS and RLJ Lodging Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS	$704.02 million	0.20	-$22.32 million	($0.73)	-2.81
RLJ Lodging Trust	$1.35 billion	1.29	$28.51 million	N/A	N/A

RLJ Lodging Trust has higher revenue and earnings than BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS.

Profitability

This table compares BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS and RLJ Lodging Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS	-0.45%	-1.92%	-0.17%
RLJ Lodging Trust	2.00%	1.52%	0.57%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

64.8% of BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.3% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 8.2% of BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS and RLJ Lodging Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS	1	2	0	0	1.67
RLJ Lodging Trust	3	5	2	0	1.90

BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS presently has a consensus target price of $2.50, indicating a potential upside of 21.95%. RLJ Lodging Trust has a consensus target price of $11.11, indicating a potential downside of 3.04%. Given BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS is more favorable than RLJ Lodging Trust.

Summary

RLJ Lodging Trust beats BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BRAEMAR HOTELS & RESORTS

Braemar Hotels & Resorts is a conservatively capitalized REIT that invests primarily in high RevPAR, full-service luxury hotels and resorts. We are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BHR and are externally-advised by Ashford (NYSE American: AINC).

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.