RLJ Lodging Trust (RLJ) Stock

RLJ Lodging Trust's preferred shares offer a 7.8% yield and are unlikely to be called due to the common stock trading below $10. The REIT's financials are strong, with AFFO covering preferred dividends by a wide margin, ensuring a safety cushion for investors. With $2B in common equity ranking junior to preferred shares, there's a significant buffer against potential losses.

RLJ Lodging (RLJ) has been upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), reflecting growing optimism about the company's earnings prospects. This might drive the stock higher in the near term.

Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Investors interested in stocks from the REIT and Equity Trust - Other sector have probably already heard of RLJ Lodging (RLJ) and National Health Investors (NHI). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now?

RLJ Lodging Trust and Chatham Lodging Trust are REITs focused on hotels in the Sun Belt region. Operating performance at RLJ Lodging is marginally stronger although its sustainability is in doubt given reliance on occupancy growth. Both REITs are attractively valued on a market-implied cap rate basis, with RLJ's higher leverage and interest rate hedging making it more attractive on an AFFO multiple basis.

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ ) Q3 2024 Earnings Conference Call November 7, 2024 12:00 PM ET Company Participants Nikhil Bhalla - Senior Vice President Finance and Treasurer Leslie Hale - President and CEO Sean Mahoney - Executive Vice President and CFO Tom Bardenett - Chief Operating Officer Conference Call Participants Austin Wurschmidt - KeyBanc Capital Markets Michael Bellisario - Baird Jonathan Jenkins - Oppenheimer & Company Dori Kesten - Wells Fargo Chris Woronka - Deutsche Bank Gregory Miller - Truist Securities Floris van Dijkum - Compass Point Operator Welcome to the RLJ Lodging Trust Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded.

The headline numbers for RLJ Lodging (RLJ) give insight into how the company performed in the quarter ended September 2024, but it may be worthwhile to compare some of its key metrics to Wall Street estimates and the year-ago actuals.

RLJ Lodging (RLJ) came out with quarterly funds from operations (FFO) of $0.40 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.35 per share. This compares to FFO of $0.40 per share a year ago.

RLJ Lodging Trust's preferred stock offers a 7.5% yield, down from 8.1%, but remains attractive thanks to the safety of its dividend and potential Fed rate cuts. The REIT owns 96 premium-branded hotels, has recovered from the pandemic, and maintains a healthy balance sheet, ensuring the preferred dividend's safety. The preferred dividend is well-covered with a 9.3 coverage ratio, and the REIT is unlikely to eliminate its common dividend, even in a recession.