RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $10.70 and last traded at $10.6050, with a volume of 813095 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on RLJ. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $8.67.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $8.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of -1,061.50 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.02. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 1.37%. The firm had revenue of $339.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -6,000.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 29.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 10,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.6% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC lifted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 8.2% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 24,355 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 1,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 181,568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,353,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-managed, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and operates premium-branded, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The company’s portfolio is concentrated in major U.S. markets, targeting properties that benefit from strong corporate and leisure demand, limited new supply and established brand affiliations.

The trust’s hotels are affiliated with leading global lodging brands across the spectrum of service levels, including lifestyle and upscale segments.