RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Receives $9.08 Average Target Price from Brokerages

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.0833.

Several research firms have issued reports on RLJ. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 target price (down previously from $9.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Zacks Research lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Baird R W lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $9.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLJ Lodging Trust

In other news, Director Robin Mcbride Zeigler sold 13,413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.51, for a total value of $100,731.63. Following the transaction, the director owned 37,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $279,064.09. This represents a 26.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 192.4% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,782,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830,803 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 28.3% in the second quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 7,423,055 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,942 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 286.2% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,618,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,318 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 179.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,434,974 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,447,000 after buying an additional 921,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,042,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,903,000 after buying an additional 759,913 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock opened at $7.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 154.16 and a beta of 1.16. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $6.16 and a 1 year high of $10.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $7.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.37.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $330.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.13 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 1.78%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,200.00%.

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.