Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 1,539,136 Shares of RLJ Lodging Trust $RLJ

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,179,873 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,539,136 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.36% of RLJ Lodging Trust worth $150,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLJ. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.6% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on RLJ shares. Zacks Research raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $8.50 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, RLJ Lodging Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.50.

RLJ Lodging Trust Price Performance

NYSE RLJ opened at $8.81 on Tuesday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.69. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -880.90 and a beta of 1.09. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $6.54 and a 1 year high of $9.00.

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. The business had revenue of $339.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.51 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 1.37%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -6,000.00%.

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.