For any publicly traded company, the combination of improving fundamentals and a substantial dividend raise can really provide a lift to its stock. Such a happy development occurred at the tail end of 2023 with specialty real estate investment trust (REIT) RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE: RLJ), and the shares have generally been on quite a tear since then.

Of those two drivers, it might have been the dividend raise that provided the most lift -- after all, in percentage terms it came in at 25%. Not all dividends are created equal, however, so let's take a peek at this one to see if it helps make RLJ a worthy stock investment.

Despite that eye-catching dividend raise, RLJ isn't a household name with the public. The company's specialty is the operation of hotels that, in its words, comprise "premium-branded, rooms-oriented, high-margin, focused-service and compact full-service," lodgings.

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Source Fool.com