Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $6.1667.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th.

Institutional Trading of Medical Properties Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPW. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Medical Properties Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC bought a new position in Medical Properties Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 5,645 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the third quarter worth $39,000. 71.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medical Properties Trust Trading Up 1.0%

MPW stock opened at $5.13 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.75. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.35 and a beta of 1.44. Medical Properties Trust has a 52 week low of $3.51 and a 52 week high of $6.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.03). Medical Properties Trust had a negative net margin of 75.76% and a negative return on equity of 14.82%. The business had revenue of $237.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.89 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Medical Properties Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. This is a positive change from Medical Properties Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -30.51%.

About Medical Properties Trust

Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, financing, and owning net-leased hospital facilities. Through sale-leaseback transactions, direct acquisitions and recapitalizations, the company provides capital to healthcare operators while maintaining long-term, triple-net lease agreements. Its portfolio encompasses general acute care hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and other healthcare-related real estate assets and is structured to deliver stable, long-duration rental income streams.

Founded in 2003 and based in Birmingham, Alabama, Medical Properties Trust completed its initial public offering in 2004.