Globeflex Capital L P Purchases New Stake in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 38,382 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $392,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLJ. US Bancorp DE grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter valued at about $107,000. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 31.0% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 15,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 3,738 shares during the period. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $277,000. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on RLJ shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, RLJ Lodging Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.79.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

RLJ stock opened at $8.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.58 and a 200-day moving average of $9.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12 month low of $8.46 and a 12 month high of $12.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The company had revenue of $329.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.66 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 222.22%.

RLJ Lodging Trust 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.