Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 3,462,217 Shares of Service Properties Trust $SVC

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Service Properties Trust by 17.4%, selling 3,462,217 shares, which leaves them with approximately 16.5 million shares worth about $43 million.
• Analysts have downgraded Service Properties Trust to a "strong sell" with a consensus target price of $3.00, despite one analyst issuing a Buy rating.
• The company's stock recently traded down 2.5% to $2.73, having a market cap of $455.53 million and reporting a quarterly earnings per share of $0.35, beating estimates.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC - Free Report) by 17.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,489,655 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,462,217 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.90% of Service Properties Trust worth $43,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Service Properties Trust by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 234,934 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 31,337 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Service Properties Trust by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 376,899 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 54,549 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Properties Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,038,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Service Properties Trust by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 341,308 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 60,887 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Service Properties Trust by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 47,956 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 13,975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Service Properties Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $3.00.

Service Properties Trust Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ SVC traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 870,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,450,313. The company has a market capitalization of $450.52 million, a PE ratio of -1.62 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.79. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $2.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.44. Service Properties Trust has a 52 week low of $1.71 and a 52 week high of $5.00.

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $503.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.53 million. Service Properties Trust had a negative return on equity of 34.61% and a negative net margin of 14.73%.

Service Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Service Properties Trust's payout ratio 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.