Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) Shares Gap Down to $6.24

Shares of Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.24, but opened at $5.93. Medical Properties Trust shares last traded at $5.89, with a volume of 3,091,803 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Medical Properties Trust Trading Down 5.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.65, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 2.93. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.72.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.54) earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $259.53 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Medical Properties Trust, Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medical Properties Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MPW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 8.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 93,058,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $437,373,000 after purchasing an additional 7,084,981 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Medical Properties Trust during the 4th quarter worth $25,655,000. Goldentree Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the 1st quarter worth $15,966,000. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 90.9% in the first quarter. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,439,549 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,166,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 22.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,908,362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274,481 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.