RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.10.

A number of analysts have weighed in on RLJ shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Baird R W cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 price objective (down previously from $9.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:RLJ opened at $7.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. RLJ Lodging Trust has a fifty-two week low of $6.16 and a fifty-two week high of $10.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $7.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.72 and a beta of 1.49.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 3.03%. The company had revenue of $363.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. RLJ Lodging Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.380-1.580 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.5%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 285.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RLJ. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 192.4% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,782,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,830,803 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 28.3% during the second quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 7,423,055 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,040,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,942 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 286.2% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,618,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199,318 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 179.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,434,974 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,447,000 after acquiring an additional 921,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 42.2% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,363,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,208,000 after acquiring an additional 701,535 shares during the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.