Analysts Set RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Price Target at $9.50

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.50.

Several research firms recently issued reports on RLJ. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of RLJ opened at $7.67 on Friday. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12 month low of $6.16 and a 12 month high of $10.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $7.39 and its 200-day moving average is $8.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $328.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $328.08 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 3.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.83%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 230.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 829,251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,467,000 after buying an additional 14,660 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.7% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 98,673 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 96,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $986,000 after buying an additional 36,707 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 141,261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after buying an additional 11,875 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.