RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on RLJ. Compass Point downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $10.00 in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $12.69.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

RLJ stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $9.09. 1,936,464 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,336,619. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $8.80 and a 52 week high of $12.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.70.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.25). RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 4.93%. The firm had revenue of $369.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from RLJ Lodging Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is presently 142.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RLJ. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 126,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 4,414 shares in the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $262,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 178,304 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after purchasing an additional 8,145 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 18,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 66,601 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 7,520 shares during the period. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns primarily premium-branded, high-margin, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The Company's portfolio currently consists of 96 hotels with approximately 21,200 rooms, located in 23 states and the District of Columbia and an ownership interest in one unconsolidated hotel with 171 rooms.