MLT Downgrades LaSalle Hotel Properties, Price Target Says Different

In a report released Thursday, MLT analyst Ryan Meliker downgrades LaSalle Hotel Properties

from Buy to Hold, but increases its price target by $2 from $36 to $38 a share. Meliker claim LaSalle's RevPAR and EBITDA growth is below his preferred range within the company's sectors. Analysts at MLT no longer believe LaSalle trades at a discount compared within its sector. MLT's increase price target is based on a net asset value giving a 5 percent premium, derived by a 2014 estimate of a 6.25 percent cap rate. The given values are calculated by MLT's DCF model, assuming a 7.5 percent cost of equity and a 2.5 percent growth rate. MLT's price target estimates a 2015 EBITDA multiple of 14x.