Brokerages Set RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Price Target at $8.64

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.6429.

RLJ has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Up 0.3%

RLJ Lodging Trust stock opened at $7.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.59 and a 200-day moving average of $7.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. RLJ Lodging Trust has a twelve month low of $6.16 and a twelve month high of $9.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 149.10 and a beta of 1.12.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.0%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is 1,200.00%.

Insider Transactions at RLJ Lodging Trust

In related news, Director Robin Mcbride Zeigler sold 13,413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $279,064.09. This trade represents a 26.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RLJ. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 8.2% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 24,355 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 1,845 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 55.2% in the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,870 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.7% during the second quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 56,709 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 2,048 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 110,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 2,863 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company Profile

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-managed, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and operates premium-branded, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The company’s portfolio is concentrated in major U.S. markets, targeting properties that benefit from strong corporate and leisure demand, limited new supply and established brand affiliations.

The trust’s hotels are affiliated with leading global lodging brands across the spectrum of service levels, including lifestyle and upscale segments.