RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Trading Down 3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) were down 3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $6.62 and last traded at $6.69. Approximately 368,116 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,732,623 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RLJ has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.82.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Down 2.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.37. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.51.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $329.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.66 million. On average, equities analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is 222.22%.

Insider Transactions at RLJ Lodging Trust

In other RLJ Lodging Trust news, Director Patricia L. Gibson bought 10,000 shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.03 per share, with a total value of $80,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 124,217 shares in the company, valued at $997,462.51. The trade was a 8.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,397,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,999,000 after buying an additional 340,271 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 901,111 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.9% in the third 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. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,930,177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,085,000 after buying an additional 44,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,690,945 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,685,000 after buying an additional 98,673 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.