UPDATE: MLV Downgrades LaSalle Hotel Properties

In a report released Thursday, MLV analyst Ryan Meliker downgraded LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE: LHO) from Buy to Hold, but increased its price target from $36 to $38 per share.

Meliker claim LaSalle's RevPAR and EBITDA growth is below his preferred range within the company's sectors. Analysts at MLV no longer believe LaSalle trades at a discount compared within its sector.

MLV's increase price target is based on a net asset value giving a five percent premium, derived by a 2014 estimate of a 6.25 percent cap rate. The given values are calculated by MLV's DCF model, assuming a 7.5 percent cost of equity and a 2.5 percent growth rate. MLV's price target estimates a 2015 EBITDA multiple of 14x.