RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Stock Price Down 5.2% – Here’s Why

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)’s share price was down 5.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $8.46 and last traded at $8.42. Approximately 741,258 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 1,473,127 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on RLJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.63.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Down 5.2 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.60. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.36. The business had revenue of $329.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.66 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. On average, equities analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.13%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is 222.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,592,272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,977,000 after acquiring an additional 170,484 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 97.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 271,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,495,000 after buying an additional 134,093 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,331,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,018,000 after buying an additional 232,393 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $277,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,166,593 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,429,000 after buying an additional 240,254 shares during the period. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.