RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,870,000 shares, a decrease of 23.7% from the March 15th total of 10,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days. Approximately 5.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. HG Vora Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,818,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $33,938,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 232.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,706,282 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,070,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,538 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,597,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,324,000. 92.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

RLJ stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $11.47. 1,572,094 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,289,162. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 3.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.71. RLJ Lodging Trust has a fifty-two week low of $9.06 and a fifty-two week high of $12.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.12.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $319.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.34 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.79% and a net margin of 5.76%. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. Research analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 125.00%.

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.