RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Stock Rating Upgraded 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 Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on RLJ. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.92.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Up 1.4 %

RLJ Lodging Trust stock opened at $9.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.60. RLJ Lodging Trust has a twelve month low of $8.74 and a twelve month high of $12.39.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $345.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.93 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 206.90%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of RLJ. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,051 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $93,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $107,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 15,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 3,738 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is 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.