Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 36,707 Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 61.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 96,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,707 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RLJ. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,690,945 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,685,000 after purchasing an additional 98,673 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,331,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,018,000 after purchasing an additional 232,393 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on RLJ. StockNews.com raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.79.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE RLJ opened at $8.97 on Thursday. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1-year low of $8.46 and a 1-year high of $12.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $9.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.61. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 30.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.36. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The firm had revenue of $329.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.66 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 222.22%.

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.