Historical data shows that a consistent $500 monthly investment into RLJ Lodging Trust (RLJ) starting in 2020 would have turned a total investment of $49K into $57K today. This represents a total return of 17.8% over the 6-year period, compounding through dividend reinvestment and market growth.
The Impact of Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP)
RLJ Lodging Trust pays a dividend (currently yielding ~0.05%). By utilizing a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP), generated dividends automatically purchase fractional shares. Over this 6-year period, regular dividend payments totaled $6K. Reinvesting these dividends continuously compounded your returns, accelerating the portfolio's growth far beyond simple price appreciation.
RLJ vs. S&P 500 (SPY) Benchmark
When comparing this dollar cost averaging strategy against a broad market index,RLJ underperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The same $500 monthly contributions into SPY would have grown to $87K, compared to RLJ's $57K.