RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Trading Down 3% - What's Next?

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) fell 3% on Monday . The company traded as low as $6.62 and last traded at $6.69. 368,116 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,732,623 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on RLJ. KeyCorp dropped their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.82.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The business's 50 day moving average price is $8.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.51.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.36. The business had revenue of $329.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.66 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. Sell-side analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.66%. RLJ Lodging Trust's payout ratio is 222.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLJ Lodging Trust

In other RLJ Lodging Trust news, Director Patricia L. Gibson purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.03 per share, for a total transaction of $80,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 124,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $997,462.51. The trade was a 8.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 97.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 271,749 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,495,000 after purchasing an additional 134,093 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,331,818 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,018,000 after acquiring an additional 232,393 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $277,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position 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 worth $47,429,000 after purchasing an additional 240,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company's stock.

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.