Barclays PLC Boosts Stake in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 97.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 271,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 134,093 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $2,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,051 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.4% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 389,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,576,000 after buying an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 225,738 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 192,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 197.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,627 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE RLJ opened at $10.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.72. 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 has a 1 year low of $8.74 and a 1 year high of $12.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.53.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.23). RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The business had revenue of $345.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $342.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. RLJ Lodging Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is currently 206.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on RLJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.50.

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.