RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $9.10.

RLJ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Baird R W lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price objective (down previously from $9.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of RLJ stock opened at $7.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.32. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1-year low of $6.16 and a 1-year high of $10.84.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $363.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.30 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 3.03%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. RLJ Lodging Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.380-1.580 EPS. On average, analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.5%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 285.71%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 17.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 63,066 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 9,507 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 5.9% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 166,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,214,000 after acquiring an additional 9,272 shares in the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 100.7% in the second quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,375 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 21,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 7.3% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 241,554 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 16,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

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.