RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Downgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

RLJ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.90.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

RLJ stock remained flat at $11.11 on Monday. 1,202,642 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,261,616. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.21. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 1 year low of $9.06 and a 1 year high of $12.39.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.76% and a return on equity of 3.79%. The business had revenue of $319.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hazelview Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $82,000. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the third quarter valued at about $98,000. Metis Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $128,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLJ Lodging Trust Company Profile

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.