Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 860,871 Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,712,864 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 860,871 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 15.47% of RLJ Lodging Trust worth $242,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 282,846 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 389,527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,594 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 1,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 192,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,769,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the company's stock.

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RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

NYSE:RLJ traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $6.79. The stock had a trading volume of 3,309,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,725,293. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.51. 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 has a one year low of $6.16 and a one year high of $11.83.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust's payout ratio is 222.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on RLJ shares. StockNews.com lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patricia L. Gibson bought 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 124,217 shares in the company, valued at $997,462.51. This trade represents a 8.76 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

RLJ Lodging Trust 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.