RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $8.96, but opened at $8.63. RLJ Lodging Trust shares last traded at $8.94, with a volume of 142,420 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RLJ has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.79.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.36. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 5.19%. The firm had revenue of $329.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.66 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is 222.22%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% during 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. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter worth $112,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 13,659 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 2,624 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.