RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Trading Up 4.5% – Time to Buy?

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) traded up 4.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $10.68 and last traded at $10.61. 215,331 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,415,413 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 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. Compass Point lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded 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 research report on Friday, September 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.29.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Up 5.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.43 and its 200 day moving average is $9.48.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $345.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $342.93 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 5.19%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in 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 worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 389,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,576,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 107,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 192,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. 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.