Woodline Partners LP Purchases New Shares in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 951,378 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $9,714,000. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.62% of RLJ Lodging Trust at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 18.6% during 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,690,945 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $37,685,000 after acquiring an additional 98,673 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,331,818 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,018,000 after purchasing an additional 232,393 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,398,066 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $24,486,000 after purchasing an additional 885,071 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,201,819 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $22,481,000 after purchasing an additional 52,945 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Up 4.0%

RLJ Lodging Trust stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $7.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,239,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,884,312. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52-week low of $6.16 and a 52-week high of $10.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $7.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.94.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 230.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLJ Lodging Trust

In related news, Director Patricia L. Gibson bought 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.03 per share, with a total value of $80,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 124,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $997,462.51. The trade was a 8.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports 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 report on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.68.

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.