Reviewing Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) and Franklin Street Properties (NYSE:FSP)

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) and Franklin Street Properties (NYSE:FSP) are both real estate companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Medical Properties Trust has a beta of 1.39, indicating that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Franklin Street Properties has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Medical Properties Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.5%. Franklin Street Properties pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. Medical Properties Trust pays out -78.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Franklin Street Properties pays out -9.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Medical Properties Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Medical Properties Trust and Franklin Street Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Medical Properties Trust	1	0	0	0	1.00
Franklin Street Properties	0	0	0	0	0.00

Profitability

This table compares Medical Properties Trust and Franklin Street Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Medical Properties Trust	-28.50%	-5.87%	-1.85%
Franklin Street Properties	-43.90%	-7.79%	-5.30%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Medical Properties Trust and Franklin Street Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Medical Properties Trust	$972.02 million	2.95	-$277.05 million	($0.46)	-10.43
Franklin Street Properties	$109.50 million	0.59	-$52.72 million	($0.44)	-1.42

Franklin Street Properties has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Medical Properties Trust. Medical Properties Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Franklin Street Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

71.8% of Medical Properties Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.4% of Franklin Street Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Medical Properties Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.6% of Franklin Street Properties shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Medical Properties Trust beats Franklin Street Properties on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Medical Properties Trust

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. is a self-advised real estate investment trust formed to capitalize on the changing trends in healthcare delivery by acquiring and developing net-leased healthcare facilities. MPT’s financing model allows hospitals and other healthcare facilities to unlock the value of their underlying real estate in order to fund facility improvements, technology upgrades, staff additions and new construction. Facilities include acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, and other medical and surgical facilities.

About Franklin Street Properties

Franklin Street Properties Corp., based in Wakefield, Massachusetts, is focused on infill and central business district (CBD) office properties in the U.S. Sunbelt and Mountain West, as well as select opportunistic markets. FSP seeks value-oriented investments with an eye towards long-term growth and appreciation, as well as current income. FSP is a Maryland corporation that operates in a manner intended to qualify as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes.