StockNews.com downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ – Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday morning.
Separately, Oppenheimer raised their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $13.90.
RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 1.3 %
RLJ stock traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $10.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,551,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,256,635. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.70. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $9.06 and a 52 week high of $12.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.81.
RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $319.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed 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 3.97%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 142.86%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RLJ. Hazelview Securities Inc. acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $82,000. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the third quarter valued at about $98,000. Metis Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $122,000. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $128,000. Finally, BOKF NA acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the first quarter worth about $139,000. 92.35% of the stock is owned by 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.