RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Downgraded to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

Separately, Oppenheimer increased their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $13.90.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

NYSE RLJ opened at $10.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 35.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.70. 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 twelve month low of $9.06 and a twelve month high of $12.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.31.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 142.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Walleye Trading LLC purchased a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $593,000. Caxton Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 327.4% in the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 93,357 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 71,513 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 107,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after buying an additional 2,071 shares during the period. BOKF NA purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $139,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 3,052 shares during the period. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.