RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

RLJ has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, RLJ Lodging Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.92.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:RLJ opened at $9.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.12 and its 200 day moving average is $9.61. RLJ Lodging Trust has a fifty-two week low of $8.74 and a fifty-two week high of $12.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $345.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $342.93 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is 206.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 985,899 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,066,000 after buying an additional 215,504 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $277,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 282,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 34,775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 10,643 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

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.