RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Shares Purchased by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,343,923 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 27,746 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust were worth $15,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hazelview Securities Inc. acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the first quarter valued at $82,000. Metis Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in RLJ Lodging Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $122,000. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $128,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 11.5% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in RLJ Lodging Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $168,000. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on RLJ Lodging Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on RLJ Lodging Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut RLJ Lodging Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.07.

RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Down 3.4 %

NYSE RLJ traded down $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.33. 1,343,964 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,306,273. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 12 month low of $9.06 and a 12 month high of $12.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.70.

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. RLJ Lodging Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 142.86%.

RLJ Lodging Trust 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.