RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $8.62 and last traded at $8.63, with a volume of 656520 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RLJ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.79.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.36. The business had revenue of $329.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.66 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 5.19%. On average, analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.86%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is 222.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. US Bancorp DE grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $111,000. Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $112,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company Profile

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.