Clearbridge Investments LLC Grows Position in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,343,923 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 27,746 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.86% of RLJ Lodging Trust worth $15,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,432,658 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,934,000 after buying an additional 272,500 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,236,820 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $298,299,000 after buying an additional 420,428 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 70,236 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 11,688 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,554,388 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $18,373,000 after buying an additional 232,091 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 27,568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 1,903 shares during the period. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RLJ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. StockNews.com downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.07.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

NYSE RLJ traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,343,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,306,273. RLJ Lodging Trust has a twelve month low of $9.06 and a twelve month high of $12.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $9.75 and its 200 day moving average is $10.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.81.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 142.86%.

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.