RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $12.04 and last traded at $12.0150, with a volume of 172970 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group set a $13.00 target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.56.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $10.67 and a 200 day moving average of $8.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of -1,202.50 and a beta of 1.09.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is -6,000.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 166.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,887 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

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.