Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) Shares Up 5.1% – Here’s Why

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) shares were up 5.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $3.92 and last traded at $3.91. Approximately 3,632,964 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 16,259,793 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Medical Properties Trust to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Colliers Securities upgraded Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.92.

Medical Properties Trust Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $4.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.69. The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.94, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38.

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.10%. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -7.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael G. Stewart sold 32,780 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 221,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,207,997.70. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO James Kevin Hanna sold 11,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.72, for a total value of $43,304.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 366,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,364,916.36. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,421 shares of company stock worth $233,293. Corporate insiders own 1.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MPW. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in 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 worth $37,168,000 after buying an additional 328,184 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 22.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,908,362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274,481 shares during the last quarter. Silver Point Capital L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 155.3% during the third quarter. Silver Point Capital L.P. now owns 6,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,100,000 after purchasing an additional 3,650,000 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 353.5% in the third 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 21.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,704,785 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,973,000 after purchasing an additional 303,628 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.