Boothbay Fund Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC lessened its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 61.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 190,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 304,600 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $1,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $111,000. Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $112,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 13,659 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 2,624 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $146,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust stock opened at $7.03 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $8.12 and its 200 day moving average is $9.21. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $6.16 and a 1 year high of $11.27. 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 (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.36. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The company had revenue of $329.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.66 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is 222.22%.

Insider Activity

In other RLJ Lodging Trust news, Director Patricia L. Gibson acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.03 per share, with a total value of $80,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 124,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $997,462.51. The trade was a 8.76 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RLJ shares. StockNews.com raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, RLJ Lodging Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.82.

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.