RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $11.54 and last traded at $11.36, with a volume of 1324781 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $11.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 target price (up from $10.00) on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Thursday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $9.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.56.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $9.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of -1,136.00 and a beta of 1.13.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.02. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 1.37%. The firm had revenue of $339.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. RLJ Lodging Trust’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -6,000.00%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,721.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 3,347 shares in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 166.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 2,887 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company Profile

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-managed, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and operates premium-branded, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The company’s portfolio is concentrated in major U.S. markets, targeting properties that benefit from strong corporate and leisure demand, limited new supply and established brand affiliations.

The trust’s hotels are affiliated with leading global lodging brands across the spectrum of service levels, including lifestyle and upscale segments.