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

StockNews.com cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

RLJ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.50.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 2.4 %

RLJ stock opened at $9.97 on Tuesday. RLJ Lodging Trust has a one year low of $8.74 and a one year high of $12.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.93 and a 200-day moving average of $9.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.72.

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 business had revenue of $345.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.02%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 206.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 197.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 34.9% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,051 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $107,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 15,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 3,738 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.