Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.49, but opened at $2.70. Service Properties Trust shares last traded at $3.04, with a volume of 3,883,911 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Service Properties Trust Trading Down 4.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $468.25 million, a PE ratio of -1.91 and a beta of 2.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.32, a current ratio of 0.03 and a quick ratio of 0.03.

Service Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 27th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Service Properties Trust’s payout ratio is -2.40%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nantahala Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Properties Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,553,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Service Properties Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,900,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Service Properties Trust by 2,999.1% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 2,518,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,398,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437,613 shares during the last quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Service Properties Trust by 234.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,504,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Service Properties Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $3,593,000. 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.