RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $9.00 and last traded at $8.7960, with a volume of 109112 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on RLJ. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $8.50 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Truist Financial cut 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 report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.50.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Down 3.0%

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $7.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.66. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -869.40 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $339.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -6,000.00%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RLJ. Amundi grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.3% in 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 during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.6% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 103,065 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the second quarter valued at about $1,248,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 47.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,634,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,897,000 after purchasing an additional 526,172 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 3,347 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.