RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.90.

Several research firms recently weighed in on RLJ. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. StockNews.com raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Wolfe Research started coverage on RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,015,428 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $352,218,000 after purchasing an additional 518,882 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,993,522 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,447 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,057,976 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,518,000 after purchasing an additional 32,318 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,482,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,766,000 after purchasing an additional 60,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,366,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,686,000 after purchasing an additional 63,703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:RLJ opened at $10.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.09, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.13. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1-year low of $9.06 and a 1-year high of $12.39.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $319.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.34 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.79% and a net margin of 5.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.00%.

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.