Short Interest in Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) Grows By 16.2%

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 7,100,000 shares, an increase of 16.2% from the February 13th total of 6,110,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Service Properties Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SVC opened at $2.99 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $2.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.22. Service Properties Trust has a twelve month low of $2.29 and a twelve month high of $6.85. The stock has a market cap of $498.24 million, a P/E ratio of -2.03 and a beta of 2.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.32.

Service Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th were issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 27th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Service Properties Trust’s payout ratio is currently -2.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Service Properties Trust from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $2.50 to $4.00 in a research note on Wednesday.

Institutional Trading of Service Properties Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nantahala Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Service Properties Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,553,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Service Properties Trust by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,554,256 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,188,000 after buying an additional 1,259,382 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Service Properties Trust by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,563,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,593,000 after acquiring an additional 53,389 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Service Properties Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,900,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Service Properties Trust by 2,999.1% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 2,518,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,398,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437,613 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.62% of the company’s stock.

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.