RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Raised to “Strong Sell” at Barclays

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) was upgraded by analysts at Barclays to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price objective (down from $9.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Monday, December 29th. Baird R W lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $9.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.64.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of RLJ opened at $7.50 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 149.90 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $7.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.42. RLJ Lodging Trust has a fifty-two week low of $6.16 and a fifty-two week high of $10.24.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $330.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.13 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 1.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robin Mcbride Zeigler sold 13,413 shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.51, for a total transaction of $100,731.63. Following the sale, the director directly owned 37,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $279,064.09. The trade was a 26.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3,347 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 55.2% in the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,870 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.6% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.