Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) Lowered to "Strong Sell" Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Service Properties Trust has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "strong sell" rating by Zacks Research, indicating significant concerns about the company's financial health.
• B. Riley has issued a "neutral" rating with a target price of $2.00, while the consensus rating remains a "hold" with a target price of $3.00.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a small beat on expected EPS, but also highlighted a negative net margin of 14.73% and a negative return on equity of 34.61%.

Zacks Research cut shares of Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Tuesday, August 19th,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, B. Riley assumed coverage on Service Properties Trust in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $2.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $3.00.

Service Properties Trust Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Service Properties Trust stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $2.74. 242,667 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,767,289. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.44. Service Properties Trust has a fifty-two week low of $1.71 and a fifty-two week high of $5.00. 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 stock has a market cap of $456.36 million, a P/E ratio of -1.64 and a beta of 1.91.

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

Service Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given 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 was Monday, July 21st. Service Properties Trust's payout ratio is presently -2.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Properties Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SVC. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Service Properties Trust by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 234,934 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 31,337 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 54,549 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Service Properties Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,038,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 60,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Service Properties Trust by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 47,956 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 13,975 shares during the last quarter. 77.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.