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

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wolfe Research to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

MPW has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas downgraded Medical Properties Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $6.00 to $4.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Colliers Securities upgraded Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price target for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Medical Properties Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.22.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of MPW opened at $6.11 on Monday. Medical Properties Trust has a 52 week low of $2.92 and a 52 week high of $6.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.75, a PEG ratio of 0.84 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $4.98 and a 200-day moving average of $4.77.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.75). The company had revenue of $266.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $259.53 million. The firm’s revenue was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elizabeth N. Pitman sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.98, for a total value 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 link. 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth N. Pitman sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $341,891.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Medical Properties Trust by 0.6% in the 2nd 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 lifted its position 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 buying an additional 2,715 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 167,722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 3,103 shares in the last quarter. Collective Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 16.8% during the 1st 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. lifted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 23.6% during the 2nd 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. Institutional investors own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

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.