RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Downgraded by StockNews.com

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

RLJ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an outperform rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $13.90.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

RLJ opened at $10.66 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $9.06 and a 1 year high of $12.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.07, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.70.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.53% and a net margin of 5.29%. The firm had revenue of $319.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 142.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of RLJ. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.4% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 87,008 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.4% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 326,141 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,209,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 18,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares during the period. Finally, Vert Asset Management LLC grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 62,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 1,787 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.