RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $7.20 and last traded at $7.23, with a volume of 636066 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on RLJ shares. StockNews.com upgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial cut shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, RLJ Lodging Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.82.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $9.21 and its 200 day moving average is $9.55.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.36. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 5.19%. The firm had revenue of $329.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.66 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 222.22%.

Insider Activity at RLJ Lodging Trust

In other news, Director Patricia L. Gibson acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.03 per share, for a total transaction of $80,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 124,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $997,462.51. This trade represents a 8.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $9,714,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 5,756,233 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,771,000 after buying an additional 901,111 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,398,066 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,486,000 after buying an additional 885,071 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,036,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 294.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 841,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,727,000 after acquiring an additional 628,157 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

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.