Real estate investment trust, Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE:AHT), owning full-service upscale hotel properties in the United States witnessed stock opening at $15.35 on August 3, 2021.
Ashford’s hotels are located across the US and operating under brands such as Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, Crowne Plaza, Sheraton, and others. The company also gives real estate investment services like first mortgage financing, mezzanine financing, and sales-leaseback transactions. The firm gets revenues through room charges, food, and beverages amongst others.
The firm had 103 properties by end of 2020 with a total number of rooms owned being 22,621.
The company was also badly hit by the pandemic with leisure and business coming to a halt. Its revenues plummeted by 66% in 2020 and operating losses of $465 million. Its interest expenses still need to be paid, which will make its total loss at $633 million
These results have led to a 98% decline in its prices from 2018 levels. However, the firm engineered a reverse stock split for bringing its share price above $5 for attracting more institutional investors, lowering total shares from 265 million to 26.5 million.
High debt-to-EBITDA ratio, the firm is yet to recover from its $3.9 billion debt load. AHT aims at big refinancing in 2025 when $2.6 billion becomes due. VXRT stock is down by 6% to $13.95 in the morning session on Wednesday. The stock has slumped 45% in the past month and 41% year-to-date.
