RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Shares Acquired by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 174,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,400 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $1,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 294.1% in 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 valued at $7,727,000 after buying an additional 628,157 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $4,374,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,397,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,999,000 after acquiring an additional 340,271 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,166,593 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,429,000 after purchasing an additional 240,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,331,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,018,000 after purchasing an additional 232,393 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on RLJ. Truist Financial downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp dropped their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Patricia L. Gibson purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 124,217 shares in the company, valued at $997,462.51. This represents a 8.76 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RLJ opened at $6.83 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $9.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.51. 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 capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. RLJ Lodging Trust has a one year low of $6.50 and a one year high of $11.99.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.36. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The company had revenue of $329.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.66 million. Analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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.