RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $7.20 and last traded at $7.23, with a volume of 636066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on RLJ shares. Truist Financial lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp decreased 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 research note on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.82.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.09 and its 200 day moving average is $9.51.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.36. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 5.19%. The company had revenue of $329.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.66 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.79%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 222.22%.

Insider Transactions at RLJ Lodging Trust

In other RLJ Lodging Trust news, Director Patricia L. Gibson acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.03 per share, for a total transaction of $80,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 124,217 shares in the company, valued at $997,462.51. This represents a 8.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLJ. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter worth $9,714,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 5,756,233 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,771,000 after purchasing an additional 901,111 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,398,066 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,486,000 after buying an additional 885,071 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,036,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 294.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 841,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,727,000 after acquiring an additional 628,157 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-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.