RLJ Lodging Trust (RLJ) Competitors

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) and RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Does the media favor HST or RLJ?

In the previous week, Host Hotels & Resorts had 14 more articles in the media than RLJ Lodging Trust. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for Host Hotels & Resorts and 5 mentions for RLJ Lodging Trust. Host Hotels & Resorts' average media sentiment score of 1.10 beat RLJ Lodging Trust's score of 0.88 indicating that Host Hotels & Resorts is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Host Hotels & Resorts	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
RLJ Lodging Trust	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals believe in HST or RLJ?

98.5% of Host Hotels & Resorts shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.4% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Host Hotels & Resorts shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is HST or RLJ more profitable?

Host Hotels & Resorts has a net margin of 11.66% compared to RLJ Lodging Trust's net margin of 4.84%. Host Hotels & Resorts' return on equity of 10.11% beat RLJ Lodging Trust's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Host Hotels & Resorts	11.66%	10.11%	5.26%
RLJ Lodging Trust	4.84%	3.43%	1.36%

Which has more volatility and risk, HST or RLJ?

Host Hotels & Resorts has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RLJ Lodging Trust has a beta of 1.47, meaning that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is HST or RLJ a better dividend stock?

Host Hotels & Resorts pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. RLJ Lodging Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.8%. Host Hotels & Resorts pays out 83.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. RLJ Lodging Trust pays out 230.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Host Hotels & Resorts has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and RLJ Lodging Trust has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. RLJ Lodging Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better earnings and valuation, HST or RLJ?

Host Hotels & Resorts has higher revenue and earnings than RLJ Lodging Trust. Host Hotels & Resorts is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than RLJ Lodging Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Host Hotels & Resorts	$5.68B	1.99	$697M	$0.96	17.01
RLJ Lodging Trust	$1.37B	0.85	$68.02M	$0.26	29.48

Do analysts recommend HST or RLJ?

Host Hotels & Resorts currently has a consensus price target of $17.96, suggesting a potential upside of 9.99%. RLJ Lodging Trust has a consensus price target of $9.50, suggesting a potential upside of 23.94%. Given RLJ Lodging Trust's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe RLJ Lodging Trust is more favorable than Host Hotels & Resorts.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Host Hotels & Resorts	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54
RLJ Lodging Trust	2 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Summary

Host Hotels & Resorts beats RLJ Lodging Trust on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.