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

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

MPW has been the topic of several other reports. Colliers Securities raised shares of 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. BNP Paribas downgraded Medical Properties Trust from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $6.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Medical Properties Trust presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $5.22.

Medical Properties Trust Price Performance

Shares of MPW stock opened at $5.89 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.02 and its 200 day moving average is $4.79. Medical Properties Trust has a 1-year low of $2.92 and a 1-year high of $6.55. 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 $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.65, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.28.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.54) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.75). The firm had revenue of $266.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $259.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medical Properties Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued 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 is Monday, September 9th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Medical Properties Trust news, Director Elizabeth N. Pitman sold 10,025 shares of Medical Properties Trust stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 68,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $341,891.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Elizabeth N. Pitman purchased 8,087 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.01 per share, with a total value of $48,602.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 76,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $461,207.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth N. Pitman sold 10,025 shares of Medical Properties Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.98, for a total value of $49,924.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $341,891.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Medical Properties Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MPW. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its position in Medical Properties Trust by 0.6% during the second quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 405,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246 shares in the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 59,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 167,722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103 shares during the period. Collective Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 16.8% during the first quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 21,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 23.6% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 3,735 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.