Peapod Lane Capital LLC Buys New Shares in Chatham Lodging Trust (REIT) (NYSE:CLDT)

Peapod Lane Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Chatham Lodging Trust (REIT) (NYSE:CLDT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 186,356 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,329,000. Chatham Lodging Trust comprises approximately 1.5% of Peapod Lane Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Peapod Lane Capital LLC owned about 0.38% of Chatham Lodging Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chatham Lodging Trust by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 4,497,679 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,999 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Chatham Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,738,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Chatham Lodging Trust by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 970,392 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,685,000 after purchasing an additional 337,842 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in shares of Chatham Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,273,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Chatham Lodging Trust by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 428,322 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,833,000 after purchasing an additional 121,749 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chatham Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Chatham Lodging Trust stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $7.31. The stock had a trading volume of 58,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 333,919. Chatham Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $5.83 and a 1 year high of $10.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock's 50 day moving average is $7.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.66. The stock has a market cap of $358.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.83 and a beta of 1.43.

Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.01. Chatham Lodging Trust had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 1.38%. The firm had revenue of $68.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $67.99 million. As a group, analysts predict that Chatham Lodging Trust will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

Chatham Lodging Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.92%. This is a positive change from Chatham Lodging Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Chatham Lodging Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 600.00%.

Chatham Lodging Trust announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 7.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on CLDT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Chatham Lodging Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Chatham Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Chatham Lodging Trust in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Chatham Lodging Trust Profile

Chatham Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused primarily on investing in upscale, extended-stay hotels and premium-branded, select-service hotels. The company owns 39 hotels totaling 5,915 rooms/suites in 16 states and the District of Columbia.