StockNews.com Lowers RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America reduced their target price on 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. Compass Point cut RLJ Lodging Trust from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the company from $18.00 to $10.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $12.25.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RLJ opened at $9.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. RLJ Lodging Trust has a fifty-two week low of $8.79 and a fifty-two week high of $12.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 35.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.33 and a 200-day moving average of $10.18.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $369.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.67 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 3.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost 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 6.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 214.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RLJ. Quarry LP increased its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 197.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares during the period. Hazelview Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the first quarter worth $82,000. BOKF NA bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $139,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 3,052 shares during the period. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.