RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• RLJ Lodging Trust shares moved above their 200-day moving average during trading, briefly reaching $11.94 and last changing hands at $11.7050. The move came on volume of 1.31 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but has improved somewhat, with recent upgrades and a higher target from Oppenheimer to $13.00. Overall, the consensus rating is still Hold, with an average price target of $10.56.
• The company posted a better-than-expected quarter and pays a 5.1% dividend yield, reporting EPS of -$0.05 versus -$0.07 expected and revenue of $339.98 million above estimates. RLJ also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, or $0.60 annualized.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $8.78 and traded as high as $11.94. RLJ Lodging Trust shares last traded at $11.7050, with a volume of 1,307,186 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $13.00 target price (up from $10.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.56.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Up 0.9%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.89. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,170.50 and a beta of 1.09.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $339.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $323.51 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 1.37% and a net margin of 1.84%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. RLJ Lodging Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -6,000.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,992 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 10,972 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 12.3% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 17,904 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 181,568 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 3,347 shares during the period. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-managed, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and operates premium-branded, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The company's portfolio is concentrated in major U.S. markets, targeting properties that benefit from strong corporate and leisure demand, limited new supply and established brand affiliations.

The trust's hotels are affiliated with leading global lodging brands across the spectrum of service levels, including lifestyle and upscale segments.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.