Virtus Advisers LLC Purchases New Holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust $RLJ

Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 71,758 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $850,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,357,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $1,968,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $1,544,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,482,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $683,000. 92.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Up 1.1%

RLJ opened at $11.47 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 1.09. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $6.54 and a 52 week high of $12.89. The company has a quick ratio of 5.71, a current ratio of 5.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.37. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 1.52% and a net margin of 2.00%.The business had revenue of $382.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $370.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. RLJ Lodging Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.370-1.500 EPS. Analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on RLJ shares. Zacks Research downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (up from $10.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $10.94.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company Profile

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.