RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Receives $11.50 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two 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. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $11.50.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:RLJ opened at $10.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.72. RLJ Lodging Trust has a twelve month low of $8.74 and a twelve month high of $12.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.54.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $342.93 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.91%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 206.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $32,977,000 after buying an additional 170,484 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 134,093 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 44,682 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 8,136 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $275,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 212,482 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 65,398 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

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.