Legal & General Group Plc Acquires New Stake in RLJ Lodging Trust $RLJ

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 547,651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $6,490,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.36% of RLJ Lodging Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RLJ. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the second quarter valued at about $145,895,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,254,000. Aegis Financial Corp bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,475,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 286.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,618,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,318 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 179.5% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 921,548 shares during the period. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:RLJ opened at $11.07 on Thursday. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12 month low of $6.54 and a 12 month high of $12.89. The company has a current ratio of 5.71, a quick ratio of 5.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.67 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.76.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $382.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $370.49 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 1.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. RLJ Lodging Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.370-1.500 EPS. Analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RLJ. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 price target (up from $10.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, RLJ Lodging Trust has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $11.11.

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.