Fisher Asset Management LLC Increases Position in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,331,818 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 232,393 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 2.17% of RLJ Lodging Trust worth $34,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RLJ. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,051 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,000. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 15,798 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 3,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company's stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE RLJ traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $9.40. 1,893,980 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,684,089. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $9.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.64. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.68. RLJ Lodging Trust has a twelve month low of $8.74 and a twelve month high of $12.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 2.74.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $329.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.66 million. Research analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.38%. RLJ Lodging Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 222.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.79.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

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.