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

StockNews.com cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on RLJ. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer cut 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 note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.68.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:RLJ opened at $7.16 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $7.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.99. RLJ Lodging Trust has a fifty-two week low of $6.16 and a fifty-two week high of $10.84.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $328.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $328.08 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.39%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is 230.77%.

Insider Activity at RLJ Lodging Trust

In related news, Director Patricia L. Gibson bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.03 per share, for a total transaction of $80,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 124,217 shares in the company, valued at $997,462.51. This trade represents a 8.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 97.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 271,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,495,000 after acquiring an additional 134,093 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,331,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,018,000 after acquiring an additional 232,393 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $277,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $355,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 98,673 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

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.