RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Trading Down 5.2% – Should You Sell?

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) were down 5.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $8.46 and last traded at $8.42. Approximately 741,258 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 1,473,127 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RLJ shares. StockNews.com raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.63.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Down 6.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $9.51 and its 200 day moving average is $9.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 222.22%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 5.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,592,272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,977,000 after acquiring an additional 170,484 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 97.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 271,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,495,000 after buying an additional 134,093 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,331,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,018,000 after buying an additional 232,393 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,166,593 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,429,000 after purchasing an additional 240,254 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is 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.