Medical Properties Trust Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MPW)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 112,844 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 78% compared to the typical volume of 63,487 put options.

Medical Properties Trust Trading Down 7.3 %

Shares of MPW stock opened at $4.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a current ratio of 3.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.93 and a 200-day moving average of $4.39. Medical Properties Trust has a 52-week low of $2.92 and a 52-week high of $10.74. The stock has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.27.

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.89%. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -27.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 8.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,058,339 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,476,000 after acquiring an additional 448,118 shares during the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC increased its position in Medical Properties Trust by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 6,806,501 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,830 shares in the last quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 5,395,068 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,490,000 after acquiring an additional 329,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,655,000. 71.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Colliers Securities downgraded Medical Properties Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $10.00 to $4.25 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Medical Properties Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $2.00 to $5.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.80.

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.