RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $9.60 and traded as high as $9.79. RLJ Lodging Trust shares last traded at $9.77, with a volume of 801,357 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on RLJ. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.92.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $10.09 and its 200-day moving average is $9.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $345.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $342.93 million. RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.14%. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 206.90%.

Institutional Trading of RLJ Lodging Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $431,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.5% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 38,941 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 7,400 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 22.3% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 44,682 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 8,136 shares during the period. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $275,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 34.9% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,051 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 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.