RLJ Lodging TrustNYSE: RLJ

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.

RLJ Lodging is a hotel REIT managing 96 premium-branded urban-centric hotels, with the largest markets being Los Angeles/Anaheim and Washington, DC. The REIT has substantially underperformed the Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund ETF so far in 2024, delivering a 19% loss. The Q2 2024 results were mixed as robust RevPAR growth was offset by elevated expense growth, ultimately resulting in lower Adjusted FFO.

The headline numbers for RLJ Lodging (RLJ) give insight into how the company performed in the quarter ended June 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 $0.51 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.48 per share. This compares to FFO of $0.56 per share a year ago.

We discuss three essential criteria for steady passive income from investments. My investment strategy seeks regular and recurring income from lower-risk preferred securities. With fixed income, I am using the interest rate uncertainties to my advantage.

BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RLJ Lodging Trust (the “Company”) (NYSE: RLJ) today announced that its Board of Trustees has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per common share of beneficial interest. The dividend is payable on July 15, 2024, to shareholders of record as of June 28, 2024. The Board of Trustees also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.4875 on the Company's Series A Preferred Shares. The dividend is payable on July 31, 2024, to shareholders of record as of June 28,.