RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

RLJ has been the topic of several other reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.92.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

RLJ opened at $9.87 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 2.74. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1-year low of $8.74 and a 1-year high of $12.39.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $345.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.93 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.08%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 206.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 5.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,592,272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,977,000 after acquiring an additional 170,484 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 97.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 271,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,495,000 after buying an additional 134,093 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,166,593 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,429,000 after buying an additional 240,254 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 22.3% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 44,682 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 8,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

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.