RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $9.15 and last traded at $9.1250, with a volume of 789516 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on RLJ shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $8.50 price objective for the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.50.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $7.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -917.50 and a beta of 1.09.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued 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. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 1.37%. The business had revenue of $339.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. RLJ Lodging Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -6,000.00%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 13,140,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,899,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463,189 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,254,000. Aegis Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,475,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 286.2% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,618,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,783,000 after buying an additional 1,199,318 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 179.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,434,974 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,447,000 after buying an additional 921,548 shares during the period. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company Profile

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.