RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research note released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $9.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their previous price target of $11.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Compass Point lowered RLJ Lodging Trust from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America cut their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $12.25.

RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of RLJ opened at $9.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.27, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.70. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52-week low of $8.79 and a 52-week high of $12.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $9.33 and its 200-day moving average is $10.27.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $369.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.67 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 4.93%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLJ Lodging Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.64%. This is an increase from RLJ Lodging Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s payout ratio is currently 214.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 197.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 3,627 shares during the period. Hazelview Securities Inc. acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,000. BOKF NA acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $139,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 3,052 shares during the period. 92.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.