Truist Financial Downgrades RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) to Hold

Truist Financial downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $10.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their previous price target of $11.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on RLJ. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.63.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RLJ opened at $8.42 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.60. RLJ Lodging Trust has a one year low of $8.26 and a one year high of $11.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.13%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is 222.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RLJ. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,678,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 890,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,092,000 after purchasing an additional 48,734 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,714,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 225,823 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 20,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

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.