Medical Properties Trust Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MPT)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPT) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 48,831 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 72% compared to the typical daily volume of 28,453 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MPT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 note on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. They set a “sell (d-)” rating on the stock. Finally, Maxim Group initiated coverage on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Medical Properties Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 64.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,166 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,410 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 499.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,236 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 5,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

Medical Properties Trust Price Performance

MPT stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $5.01. The company had a trading volume of 14,586,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,911,089. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 2.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.88 and a beta of 1.39. Medical Properties Trust has a fifty-two week low of $3.95 and a fifty-two week high of $6.47.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.12). Medical Properties Trust had a negative return on equity of 5.87% and a negative net margin of 28.50%.The company had revenue of $270.34 million for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medical Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -78.26%.

Medical Properties Trust Company Profile

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.