RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Baird R W

Baird R W lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

RLJ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 price objective (down previously from $9.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.10.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

RLJ opened at $7.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 2.48. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1-year low of $6.16 and a 1-year high of $10.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.43.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $363.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.30 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.03% and a net margin of 4.23%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. RLJ Lodging Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.380-1.580 EPS. Research analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is 285.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 3,347 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the first quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 402.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the second quarter worth $76,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the first quarter worth $82,000. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.