RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• RLJ Lodging Trust experienced a significant increase in trading volume, with approximately 6.1 million shares traded, marking a 183% rise from the previous session.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with two "Buy" ratings, five "Hold" ratings, and one "Sell" rating, resulting in an average price target of $9.10.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.15 per share, yielding 8.5%, although its payout ratio stands at a high 285.71%.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 6,076,484 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 183% from the previous session's volume of 2,148,254 shares.The stock last traded at $6.87 and had previously closed at $6.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RLJ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised RLJ Lodging Trust to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, RLJ Lodging Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.10.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $7.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $363.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.30 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.03% and a net margin of 4.23%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. RLJ Lodging Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.380-1.580 EPS. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust's payout ratio is currently 285.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 3,347 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $82,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 1,138.4% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 10,576 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 9,722 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently 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.

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