Medical Properties Trust Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:MPW)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 52,662 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 67% compared to the average daily volume of 31,548 call options.

Medical Properties Trust Price Performance

NYSE MPW opened at $5.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 2.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of -2.10 and a beta of 1.35. Medical Properties Trust has a 12 month low of $3.51 and a 12 month high of $6.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.83.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Medical Properties Trust had a negative return on equity of 28.80% and a negative net margin of 155.20%.The business had revenue of $240.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medical Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Medical Properties Trust’s payout ratio is presently -13.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Medical Properties Trust by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 449,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,938,000 after acquiring an additional 89,082 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 453.0% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 68,325 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 55,970 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 2.6% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 452,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 11,386 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 1,256.4% in the second quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 41,574 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 38,509 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Medical Properties Trust during the second quarter worth about $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Medical Properties Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Medical Properties Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $4.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $4.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.40.

About Medical Properties Trust

Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a self-advised real estate investment trust formed in 2003 to acquire and develop net-leased hospital facilities. From its inception in Birmingham, Alabama, the Company has grown to become one of the world's largest owners of hospital real estate with 441 facilities and approximately 44,000 licensed beds as of September 30, 2023.