Arizona State Retirement System Makes New Investment in Service Properties Trust $SVC

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System acquired 165,193 shares of Service Properties Trust, valued at approximately $279,000, giving it a 0.13% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 77.62% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but centers on a “Hold” consensus, with three Buy, two Hold, and one Sell rating and an average price target of $12.81.
• SVC opened at $6.48, compared with a 52-week range of $5.65 to $14.55, and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, equal to a 3.1% annualized yield.

Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 165,193 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $279,000. Arizona State Retirement System owned 0.13% of Service Properties Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Service Properties Trust by 266.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,308,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,407,000 after buying an additional 951,523 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Service Properties Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,691,000. Yorkville Advisors Global LP purchased a new position in Service Properties Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,333,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Service Properties Trust during the second quarter valued at about $543,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Service Properties Trust during the first quarter valued at about $95,000. 77.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Service Properties Trust from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Service Properties Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Service Properties Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $11.25 price objective for the company. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Service Properties Trust from $10.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.81.

Service Properties Trust Stock Performance

Service Properties Trust stock opened at $6.48 on Monday. Service Properties Trust has a 1 year low of $5.65 and a 1 year high of $14.55. The firm's 50-day moving average is $7.90 and its 200-day moving average is $8.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.01 and a current ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $839.22 million, a P/E ratio of -0.84 and a beta of 1.66.

Service Properties Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. This is a positive change from Service Properties Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Service Properties Trust's payout ratio is currently -2.60%.

Service Properties Trust Profile

Service Properties Trust NASDAQ: SVC is a real estate investment trust that owns a diversified portfolio of hotels and service-oriented properties. The company generally leases its properties to operating companies and generates rental income from those arrangements, while hotel operations are conducted by third-party managers and tenants.

SVC's hotel portfolio has included properties operated under a range of well-known hospitality brands and serving business, leisure and extended-stay travelers.

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