RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Downgraded by StockNews.com to "Sell"

StockNews.com cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.92.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of RLJ traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,315,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,502,978. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52 week low of $8.74 and a 52 week high of $12.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66 and a beta of 1.70. The company's fifty day moving average price is $10.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.60. 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 (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.23). RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The business had revenue of $345.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $342.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. RLJ Lodging Trust's payout ratio is 206.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,592,272 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,977,000 after buying an additional 170,484 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 97.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 271,749 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,495,000 after acquiring an additional 134,093 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 4.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,166,593 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $47,429,000 after acquiring an additional 240,254 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 44,682 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 8,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $275,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.