Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 7,520 Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,601 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,520 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,728,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $242,097,000 after purchasing an additional 183,408 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,358,968 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,884,000 after purchasing an additional 48,091 shares in the last quarter. HG Vora Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter worth $31,818,000. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,539,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,071,000 after buying an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $11,324,000. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

RLJ stock opened at $11.11 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.71. RLJ Lodging Trust has a fifty-two week low of $9.06 and a fifty-two week high of $12.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.71 and a 200-day moving average of $11.21.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.79% and a net margin of 5.76%. The firm had revenue of $319.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 125.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.