Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) Upgraded to “Hold” by Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

MPW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Medical Properties Trust from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the company from $6.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Colliers Securities upgraded shares of Medical Properties Trust from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $6.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $5.22.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Down 0.7 %

MPW opened at $5.89 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of -2.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Medical Properties Trust has a 52 week low of $2.92 and a 52 week high of $6.55.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.75). The company had revenue of $266.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $259.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medical Properties Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.41%.

Insider Activity at Medical Properties Trust

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 stock was 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 in the company, valued at $239,310.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director C Reynolds Thompson III sold 20,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 available at this link. Also, Director Elizabeth N. Pitman acquired 8,087 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.01 per share, with a total value of $48,602.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 76,740 shares in the company, valued at $461,207.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 112.1% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 3,819 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 435.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 7,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 6,482 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Medical Properties Trust in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 166.7% during the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

Medical Properties Trust Company Profile

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.