Brokerages Set Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) Target Price at $5.22

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.22.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research raised Medical Properties Trust to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. BNP Paribas lowered Medical Properties Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company 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 research report on Friday, September 13th.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPW opened at $5.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.60, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 2.93. Medical Properties Trust has a one year low of $2.92 and a one year high of $6.55.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $266.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $259.53 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medical Properties Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director C Reynolds Thompson III sold 20,530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $89,921.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 54,637 shares in the company, valued at $239,310.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Elizabeth N. Pitman acquired 8,087 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.01 per share, with a total value of $48,602.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 76,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $461,207.40. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Reynolds Thompson III sold 20,530 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 54,637 shares in the company, valued at $239,310.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Medical Properties Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,655,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 109,815 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 4,309 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 679,570 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,337,000 after acquiring an additional 10,400 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 14,672 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 6,571 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association lifted its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 46,006 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 3,786 shares during the period. 71.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.