RLJ Lodging Trust’s (RLJ) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has a $15.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $13.00.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on RLJ. Barclays boosted their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. raised their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $9.25 to $10.50 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.06.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of RLJ opened at $12.95 on Tuesday. RLJ Lodging Trust has a one year low of $7.14 and a one year high of $13.40. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 215.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 3.01 and a quick ratio of 5.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.10.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.03. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 2.00% and a net margin of 2.55%. The company had revenue of $354.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is currently 1,000.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 234.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,535 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,837 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 957 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,705 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 3,081 shares during the period. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company Profile

RLJ Lodging Trust is a real estate investment trust that owns a portfolio of hotels in the United States. The company focuses primarily on premium-branded, compact full-service hotels, which typically offer lodging and amenities such as dining and meeting facilities. Its properties are located in a range of markets, including urban areas and other locations near major sources of hotel demand. The hotels operate under well-known brands, while day-to-day property management may be handled by third-party operators.