Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. Invests $5.38 Million in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 459,132 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $5,381,000. RLJ Lodging Trust makes up approximately 4.9% of Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of RLJ Lodging Trust as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $128,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 792,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,285,000 after buying an additional 8,781 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 4,772.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 1,175,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,782,000 after buying an additional 1,151,800 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 66,601 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 7,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 8.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RLJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wolfe Research began coverage on RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.90.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RLJ stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 834,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,105,802. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $11.71 and a 200-day moving average of $11.19. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $9.06 and a 52 week high of $12.39.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $319.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.34 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.79% and a net margin of 5.76%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 125.00%.

RLJ Lodging Trust 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.