Carrera Capital Advisors Makes New Investment in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Key Points

• Carrera Capital Advisors acquired 132,641 shares of RLJ Lodging Trust valued at approximately $1,066,000 during the first quarter, representing about 0.09% of the company's total shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Woodline Partners LP and Ameriprise Financial Inc., have significantly increased their stakes in RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter.
• RLJ Lodging Trust reported earnings of $0.31 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, while also declaring a quarterly dividend with a yield of 7.66%.

Carrera Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 132,641 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,066,000. Carrera Capital Advisors owned approximately 0.09% of RLJ Lodging Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 103.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 488,403 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,987,000 after purchasing an additional 248,350 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $995,000. Man Group plc boosted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 300.6% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 712,904 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,279,000 after buying an additional 534,938 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,714,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 201,572 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,058,000 after buying an additional 42,143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company's stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $7.41. 1,211,890 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,096,509. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a current ratio of 2.57. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $7.44 and a 200-day moving average of $8.10. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12 month low of $6.16 and a 12 month high of $10.84.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $328.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $328.08 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.43% and a net margin of 4.84%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.1%. RLJ Lodging Trust's dividend payout ratio is 230.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RLJ has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.40.

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.