StockNews.com Downgrades RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on RLJ. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research cut RLJ Lodging Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.50.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RLJ traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $9.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,472,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,748. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.70. The company's 50 day moving average price is $10.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52-week low of $8.74 and a 52-week high of $12.39.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $345.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $342.93 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The firm's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.22%. RLJ Lodging Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 206.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 131.1% during the second quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,311,274 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878,616 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 294.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 841,753 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,727,000 after buying an additional 628,157 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,991,625 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $18,283,000 after acquiring an additional 400,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position 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 worth $68,999,000 after acquiring an additional 340,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 50.9% in the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 860,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,282,000 after acquiring an additional 290,000 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.