KeyCorp Has Lowered Expectations for RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Stock Price

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) had its price target trimmed by KeyCorp from $14.00 to $12.00 in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on RLJ. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.82.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RLJ opened at $8.33 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $9.40 and its 200-day moving average is $9.58. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12-month low of $8.25 and a 12-month high of $11.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 222.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $9,714,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 5,756,233 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,771,000 after acquiring an additional 901,111 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,398,066 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,486,000 after purchasing an additional 885,071 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,036,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 628,157 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

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.