Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.25.

A number of research firms have recently commented on MPW. Colliers Securities raised shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research raised Medical Properties Trust to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th.

Medical Properties Trust Price Performance

Medical Properties Trust stock opened at $4.10 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Medical Properties Trust has a 12-month low of $2.92 and a 12-month high of $6.55. The stock has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.83.

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.80%. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -7.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael G. Stewart sold 32,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.46, for a total transaction of $178,978.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 221,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,997.70. The trade was a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth N. Pitman acquired 8,087 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.01 per share, for a total transaction of $48,602.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 76,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $461,207.40. This represents a 11.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,622,683 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,168,000 after purchasing an additional 328,184 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in 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 worth $29,775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274,481 shares during the period. Silver Point Capital L.P. boosted its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 155.3% in the third quarter. Silver Point Capital L.P. now owns 6,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,100,000 after acquiring an additional 3,650,000 shares during the last quarter. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 27.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,376,180 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,861,000 after acquiring an additional 936,631 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 353.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,525,714 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $20,625,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.