Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,470,000 shares, an increase of 23.5% from the November 30th total of 8,480,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 6.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Service Properties Trust from $3.00 to $2.75 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Properties Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SVC. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Service Properties Trust by 48.6% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 37,820 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 12,374 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in Service Properties Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Service Properties Trust by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 182,043 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 36,963 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Service Properties Trust by 3.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,436,369 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,522,000 after purchasing an additional 85,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Service Properties Trust by 17.9% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 128,171 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 19,416 shares in the last quarter. 77.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Service Properties Trust Trading Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ:SVC traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $2.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,282,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,716,590. Service Properties Trust has a 1-year low of $2.29 and a 1-year high of $8.72. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $2.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.20. The firm has a market cap of $414.95 million, a PE ratio of -1.69 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.32, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a current ratio of 0.03.

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.65). Service Properties Trust had a negative net margin of 12.87% and a negative return on equity of 22.67%. The business had revenue of $491.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Service Properties Trust will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Properties Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. Service Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.72%.

Service Properties Trust Company Profile

Service Properties Trust (Nasdaq: SVC) is a real estate investment trust with over $11 billion invested in two asset categories: hotels and service-focused retail net lease properties. As of December 31, 2023, SVC owned 221 hotels with over 37,000 guest rooms throughout the United States and in Puerto Rico and Canada, the majority of which are extended stay and select service.