Brokerages Set RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Price Target at $9.25

Key Points

• RLJ Lodging Trust has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from five research firms, with price targets ranging from $6.00 to $12.00.
• The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, alongside a revenue increase of 1.1% year-over-year.
• RLJ Lodging Trust declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15, representing an annualized dividend yield of 8.2%, although the payout ratio is notably high at 230.77%.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.25.

A number of analysts have recently commented on RLJ shares. Truist Financial cut their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut RLJ Lodging Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock traded down $0.43 on Thursday, hitting $6.94. The company had a trading volume of 3,273,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,011. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $7.45 and a 200-day moving average of $7.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 2.57. RLJ Lodging Trust has a twelve month low of $6.16 and a twelve month high of $10.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05 and a beta of 1.54.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $363.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $365.30 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 3.01%. The firm's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Research analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust's payout ratio is 230.77%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.5% in the first quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 5,785,113 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $45,645,000 after purchasing an additional 28,880 shares during the period. Palisade Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 3,071,508 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $24,234,000 after purchasing an additional 11,235 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 192.4% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,782,181 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $21,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,830,803 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised 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 valued at $24,486,000 after buying an additional 885,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,201,819 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $22,481,000 after acquiring an additional 52,945 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.