Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) Shares Down 6.3% – Here’s Why

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW)’s stock price was down 6.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $5.18 and last traded at $5.1650. Approximately 3,093,821 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 9,710,019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MPW. Zacks Research raised shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Medical Properties Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Medical Properties Trust has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $5.63.

Medical Properties Trust Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.35 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.73.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $237.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.89 million. Medical Properties Trust had a negative net margin of 75.76% and a negative return on equity of 14.82%. Medical Properties Trust’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Medical Properties Trust, Inc. will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medical Properties Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. This is a boost from Medical Properties Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Medical Properties Trust’s payout ratio is presently -27.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPW. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 18.9% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 45,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 7,282 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,020,568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $60,424,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182,028 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 413,208 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,492,000 after purchasing an additional 11,868 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,182,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $218,000. 71.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.