RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.8333.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on RLJ. Barclays boosted their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.25 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE RLJ opened at $12.37 on Thursday. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $6.54 and a 1 year high of $12.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.10. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,236.50 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.89.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 1.37% and a net margin of 1.84%.The firm had revenue of $339.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -6,000.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amundi boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 90,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 9,983 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 993,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,839,000 after buying an additional 103,065 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,248,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,634,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,897,000 after buying an additional 526,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 3,347 shares during the last quarter. 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.