Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $1.85 Million Stock Holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust $RLJ

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 20.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 248,986 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 65,609 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.16% of RLJ Lodging Trust worth $1,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 10,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 181,568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,353,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 166.8% in 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 buying an additional 2,887 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% in 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 buying an additional 3,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on RLJ. Zacks Research upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.25 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.83.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 0.9%

RLJ stock opened at $12.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of -1,227.50 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.14. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $6.54 and a 52 week high of $12.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 1.37%. The firm had revenue of $339.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -6,000.00%.

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.