Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) Short Interest Up 23.5% in December

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,470,000 shares, a growth 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 shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research report on Monday, December 9th.

Service Properties Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ:SVC traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $2.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,282,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,716,590. The company has a quick ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.32. The company has a market capitalization of $414.95 million, a P/E ratio of -1.69 and a beta of 2.19. Service Properties Trust has a 1-year low of $2.29 and a 1-year high of $8.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $2.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.20.

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Service Properties Trust will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Service Properties Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. Service Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -2.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Properties Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Service Properties Trust by 12.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 28,352 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 3,112 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in Service Properties Trust by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 27,115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 3,115 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Service Properties Trust by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 85,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 3,122 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its stake in shares of Service Properties Trust by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 33,919 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Service Properties Trust by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 247,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 3,594 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.62% of the company’s stock.

About Service Properties Trust

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.