Short Interest in Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) Rises By 38.7%

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 9,365,511 shares, an increase of 38.7% from the March 15th total of 6,752,266 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,632,360 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 5.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Adam D. Portnoy acquired 41,666,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.20 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,999.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brian E. Donley acquired 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.20 per share, for a total transaction of $66,000.00. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 41,914,999 shares of company stock worth $50,297,999. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Properties Trust

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SVC. HighRoad Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Service Properties Trust in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Abel Hall LLC bought a new stake in Service Properties Trust in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Service Properties Trust in the third quarter worth $33,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Service Properties Trust by 54.4% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 5,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in Service Properties Trust in the third quarter worth $37,000. 77.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SVC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Service Properties Trust from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Service Properties Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Service Properties Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Service Properties Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised shares of Service Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $2.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Service Properties Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.00.

Service Properties Trust Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ SVC opened at $1.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $231.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.14 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.99. Service Properties Trust has a 52 week low of $1.13 and a 52 week high of $3.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14.

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $397.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $394.32 million. Service Properties Trust had a negative return on equity of 29.70% and a negative net margin of 11.15%.Service Properties Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.650-0.770 EPS.

Service Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 21st will be issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 21st. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Service Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -3.31%.

Service Properties Trust Company Profile

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ: SVC) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the acquisition, ownership and leasing of service-oriented properties, with a primary focus on the lodging sector. The company structures long-term, triple-net leases with established hotel operators under franchise agreements with leading global brands. By partnering with recognized hotel companies, Service Properties Trust seeks to generate a stable income stream through rent payments, while offering operators the capital and balance-sheet flexibility to grow their portfolios.

Since its formation in 2010, Service Properties Trust has grown its portfolio through strategic sale-leaseback transactions, targeted property acquisitions and selective dispositions.