RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $10.68.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RLJ. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

NYSE RLJ traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $7.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,607,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,892,083. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.90. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $6.16 and a 52 week high of $10.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $328.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $328.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. RLJ Lodging Trust's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors 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 8.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust's dividend payout ratio is 230.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Patricia L. Gibson acquired 10,000 shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.03 per share, with a total value of $80,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 124,217 shares in the company, valued at $997,462.51. This trade represents a 8.76% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RLJ. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 282,846 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.6% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 41,869 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 1,452 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.8% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 222,411 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,755,000 after buying an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,594 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 1,796 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.