RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $12.57 and last traded at $12.4550, with a volume of 209058 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on RLJ. Weiss Ratings upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $9.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.25 to $10.50 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.83.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,243.50 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 2.89.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.02. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 1.37%. The business had revenue of $339.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. RLJ Lodging Trust’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is -6,000.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 10,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.3% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 17,904 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 181,568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 3,347 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

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.