Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 128,936 Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust $RLJ

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital reduced its RLJ Lodging Trust stake by 5.8%, selling 128,936 shares and retaining 2.09 million shares worth approximately $15.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.35% of the REIT.
• RLJ reported quarterly revenue of $339.98 million, exceeding estimates of $323.51 million, while adjusted EPS of a $0.05 loss beat expectations by $0.02. Revenue increased 3.6% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, or $0.60 annually, representing a 4.9% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $10.83, below the reported $12.28 share price.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lessened its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,089,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 128,936 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 1.38% of RLJ Lodging Trust worth $15,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 122.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 251,168 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,864,000 after buying an additional 138,259 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.3% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 17,904 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963 shares in the last quarter. Aegis Financial Corp increased its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 57.2% in the first quarter. Aegis Financial Corp now owns 1,999,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,836,000 after acquiring an additional 727,608 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 29.8% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,992 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 25.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 55,817 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 11,367 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock opened at $12.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 2.89. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52-week low of $6.54 and a 52-week high of $12.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,227.50 and a beta of 1.09. The company's 50 day moving average price is $11.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.14.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $339.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.51 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 1.37%. The firm's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust's payout ratio is currently -6,000.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on RLJ. Barclays upped their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $13.00 price target (up from $10.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.25 to $10.50 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.83.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-managed, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and operates premium-branded, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The company's portfolio is concentrated in major U.S. markets, targeting properties that benefit from strong corporate and leisure demand, limited new supply and established brand affiliations.

The trust's hotels are affiliated with leading global lodging brands across the spectrum of service levels, including lifestyle and upscale segments.

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