RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Trading Down 5.2% – Should You Sell?

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)’s share price dropped 5.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $8.46 and last traded at $8.42. Approximately 741,258 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 1,473,127 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RLJ shares. StockNews.com raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $9.75 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.63.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.84, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.60.

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

RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.19%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 222.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLJ Lodging Trust

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RLJ. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 78.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,417 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $111,000. Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $112,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 13,659 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 2,624 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.