RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on RLJ. Barclays raised their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $9.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.56.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:RLJ opened at $11.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 2.89. RLJ Lodging Trust has a one year low of $6.54 and a one year high of $12.03. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.62. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,140.30 and a beta of 1.09.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. RLJ Lodging Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -6,000.00%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLJ. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 90,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 9,983 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.6% during 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 worth $7,839,000 after acquiring an additional 103,065 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the second quarter worth about $1,248,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 526,172 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% during 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 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.