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

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

RLJ has been the topic of a number of other reports. KeyCorp cut their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial cut RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.82.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of RLJ stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $6.35. 3,068,507 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,701,109. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12 month low of $6.25 and a 12 month high of $11.99. The stock has a market cap of $962.57 million, a PE ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.45.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.36. The company had revenue of $329.99 million for 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other RLJ Lodging Trust news, Director Patricia L. Gibson purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.03 per share, with a total value of $80,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 124,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $997,462.51. The trade was a 8.76 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RLJ. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 282,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,888,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.4% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 389,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 1,796 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 192,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 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.