Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Grows Stock Position in RLJ Lodging Trust $RLJ

Key Points

• Donald Smith & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 2.46 million shares and bringing its total holdings to 13.14 million shares, worth about $97.9 million.
• Other institutional investors also increased exposure to RLJ, and hedge funds and institutions now own 92.35% of the company’s shares.
• RLJ Lodging Trust beat earnings and revenue estimates in its latest quarter, but analysts remain cautious overall with a “Reduce” consensus rating and an average price target of $8.67.

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Free Report) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,140,744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,463,189 shares during the quarter. RLJ Lodging Trust makes up approximately 1.8% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned about 8.70% of RLJ Lodging Trust worth $97,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RLJ. Amundi increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 90,874 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 9,983 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 993,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,839,000 after purchasing an additional 103,065 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,248,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 47.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,634,179 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $11,897,000 after buying an additional 526,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 3,347 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company's stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:RLJ opened at $10.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12-month low of $6.54 and a 12-month high of $10.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,065.50 and a beta of 1.13.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.02. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 1.37% and a net margin of 1.84%.The firm had revenue of $339.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $323.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. RLJ Lodging Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -6,000.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $8.50 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut RLJ Lodging Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $8.67.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company Profile

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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