RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $9.70 and last traded at $9.70, with a volume of 23003 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RLJ. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $8.50 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $7.83.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -994.50 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 2.89.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $339.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.51 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 1.37%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -6,000.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 3,347 shares in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 166.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 2,887 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-managed, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and operates premium-branded, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The company’s portfolio is concentrated in major U.S. markets, targeting properties that benefit from strong corporate and leisure demand, limited new supply and established brand affiliations.

The trust’s hotels are affiliated with leading global lodging brands across the spectrum of service levels, including lifestyle and upscale segments.