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. decreased its position in Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC - Free Report) by 17.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,489,655 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,462,217 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.90% of Service Properties Trust worth $43,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SVC. Nantahala Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Service Properties Trust during the fourth quarter worth $20,553,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Properties Trust during the fourth quarter worth $6,900,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Service Properties Trust by 2,999.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,437,613 shares in the last quarter. Capital Management Corp VA lifted its position in shares of Service Properties Trust by 37.5% during the first quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 5,666,165 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,789,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Service Properties Trust by 234.8% during the fourth quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 2,144,899 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504,297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Zacks Research downgraded Service Properties Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $3.00.

Service Properties Trust Price Performance

Shares of Service Properties Trust stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $2.70. The stock had a trading volume of 870,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,414,382. The firm has a market cap of $450.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.62 and a beta of 1.86. Service Properties Trust has a 12 month low of $1.71 and a 12 month high of $5.00. The business's 50-day moving average is $2.64 and its 200 day moving average is $2.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.79.

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

Service Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Service Properties Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently -2.40%.

Service Properties Trust 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.