Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) Reaches New 52-Week High at $6.55

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $6.55 and last traded at $6.46, with a volume of 1332573 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MPW. Colliers Securities raised shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Medical Properties Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $6.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Medical Properties Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.22.

Medical Properties Trust Trading Down 4.8 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $4.88 and its 200 day moving average is $4.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 2.93. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of -2.68, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.28.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.75). The business had revenue of $266.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $259.53 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. Medical Properties Trust’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Medical Properties Trust, Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Medical Properties Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.39%. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director C Reynolds Thompson III sold 20,530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $89,921.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,637 shares in the company, valued at $239,310.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director C Reynolds Thompson III sold 20,530 shares of Medical Properties Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total transaction of $89,921.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 54,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,310.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth N. Pitman sold 10,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.98, for a total transaction of $49,924.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $341,891.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Medical Properties Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 95,041 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 16,280 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 353,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 5,874 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Medical Properties Trust by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 406,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 21,092 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 42.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 326,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,406,000 after purchasing an additional 97,546 shares during the last quarter. 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.