RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust to a "strong sell" rating, adding to a mixed analyst picture on the hotel REIT.
• Other firms have recently adjusted their views and price targets, with ratings ranging from outperform to underperform; the stock's overall consensus remains Hold with an average price target of $10.83.
• RLJ reported quarterly earnings of -$0.05 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 3.6% year over year to $339.98 million.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on RLJ. Bank of America raised their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.25 to $10.50 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $13.00 price objective (up from $10.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.83.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:RLJ opened at $12.32 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,232.50 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.99. RLJ Lodging Trust has a twelve month low of $6.54 and a twelve month high of $12.51.

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) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.02. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 1.37%. The business had revenue of $339.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Company Profile

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.

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