Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) Short Interest Down 25.4% in March

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,300,000 shares, a decrease of 25.4% from the February 28th total of 7,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,930,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Service Properties Trust from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $2.50 to $4.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Properties Trust

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Service Properties Trust during the 4th quarter worth $20,553,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Service Properties Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,900,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Service Properties Trust by 2,999.1% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 2,518,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,398,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437,613 shares during the period. Whitebox Advisors LLC grew its position in Service Properties Trust by 234.8% in the 4th quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 2,144,899 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,448,000 after buying an additional 1,504,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Service Properties Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,593,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.62% of the company’s stock.

Service Properties Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SVC traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $2.62. The company had a trading volume of 176,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,941,473. Service Properties Trust has a 12 month low of $2.29 and a 12 month high of $6.85. The stock has a market cap of $435.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.78 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.32, a current ratio of 0.03 and a quick ratio of 0.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.13.

Service Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th were given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 27th. Service Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2.40%.

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.