Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Position in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,941 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,400 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 197.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares during the period. Hazelview Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $82,000. BOKF NA purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $139,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.5% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 32.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

NYSE RLJ opened at $9.15 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. RLJ Lodging Trust has a fifty-two week low of $8.79 and a fifty-two week high of $12.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.69.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.25). RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 3.34%. The firm had revenue of $369.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. RLJ Lodging Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.56%. This is a positive change from RLJ Lodging Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is presently 230.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on RLJ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America lowered their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Compass Point downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $10.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut RLJ Lodging Trust from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.14.

RLJ Lodging Trust 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.