AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 76,988 Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Free Report) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 526,910 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 76,988 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.34% of RLJ Lodging Trust worth $5,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RLJ. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 5,756,233 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $58,771,000 after buying an additional 901,111 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,690,945 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,685,000 after buying an additional 98,673 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,331,818 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,018,000 after buying an additional 232,393 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,201,819 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $22,481,000 after purchasing an additional 52,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,161,489 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $22,069,000 after purchasing an additional 438,024 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

RLJ traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $7.67. 306,754 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,849,294. The company's 50-day moving average is $7.61 and its 200 day moving average is $9.05. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $6.16 and a 52 week high of $10.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.50.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $328.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $328.08 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust's dividend payout ratio is 230.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patricia L. Gibson acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.03 per share, with a total value of $80,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 124,217 shares in the company, valued at $997,462.51. This represents a 8.76% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.68.

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.