RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

RLJ has been the subject of a number of other reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $8.50 price target for the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.50.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:RLJ opened at $8.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.66. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $6.54 and a 1 year high of $8.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -896.50 and a beta of 1.09.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $339.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.51 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.22 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, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is -6,000.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 13,140,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,899,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463,189 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,204,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,469,000 after purchasing an additional 226,335 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,844,974 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,650,000 after purchasing an additional 114,163 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,709,660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,637,000 after purchasing an additional 74,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,127,412 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,299,000 after purchasing an additional 94,291 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.