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

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ – Get Rating) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Separately, KeyCorp reduced their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, RLJ Lodging Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.79.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of RLJ opened at $10.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12 month low of $9.84 and a 12 month high of $14.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $11.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.41. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.31 and a beta of 1.78.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 2.04% and a net margin of 3.51%. The company had revenue of $302.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $304.99 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. RLJ Lodging Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLJ. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 78,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,291.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 254,542 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,625,000 after buying an additional 243,900 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 88,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,239,000 after buying an additional 31,501 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,588,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 148,301 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,171,000 after buying an additional 4,188 shares in the last quarter. 88.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

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RLJ Lodging Trust is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the ownership and acquisition of hotels. It operates through the following hotel brands: Embassy Suites, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt House, Hyatt Place, Hilton Garden Inn, Wyndham, Renaissance, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Holiday Inn Express, Sleep Inn, Hampton Inn, Hotel Indigo, IHG, SpringHill Suites, Hyatt Centric, and Homewood Suites.