Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) Shares Climb 5.5% – Time to Buy?

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) shares were up 5.5% on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $5.42 and last traded at $5.4350. 1,024,784 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 1,649,065 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SVC has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Service Properties Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. lowered their target price on Service Properties Trust from $11.25 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Loop Capital set a $9.00 price target on Service Properties Trust in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded Service Properties Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Service Properties Trust from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.60.

Service Properties Trust Trading Up 2.8%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.02 and a quick ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $720.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.80 and a beta of 1.78.

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $399.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $318.62 million. Service Properties Trust had a negative net margin of 29.31% and a negative return on equity of 69.76%. Equities analysts expect that Service Properties Trust will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 19th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 19th. Service Properties Trust’s payout ratio is presently -2.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Service Properties Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Service Properties Trust during the third quarter valued at about $74,000. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Service Properties Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Service Properties Trust by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 148,593 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 22,267 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its stake in shares of Service Properties Trust by 94.8% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 67,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 32,600 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Service Properties Trust during the second quarter worth about $66,000. 77.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Service Properties Trust

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ: SVC) is a real estate investment trust that owns hotels and service-focused retail properties. Its hotel portfolio includes lodging properties operated by third-party management companies and affiliated with a range of hotel brands. Its retail properties are generally leased to businesses that provide services to travelers and local customers. The trust’s properties are located primarily in the United States. Service Properties Trust was formerly known as Hospitality Properties Trust, reflecting its earlier focus on hotels, before adopting its current name as its portfolio expanded to include service-focused retail real estate.