Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MPW. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.17.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Up 4.2%

NYSE:MPW opened at $5.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.50 and a beta of 1.43. Medical Properties Trust has a twelve month low of $3.51 and a twelve month high of $6.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.80.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.03). Medical Properties Trust had a negative return on equity of 14.82% and a negative net margin of 75.76%.The company had revenue of $237.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $244.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Medical Properties Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is an increase from Medical Properties Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -30.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPW. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in Medical Properties Trust by 4.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 557,066 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,359,000 after purchasing an additional 21,775 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 19.3% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 14,000 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 388,254 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,340,000 after buying an additional 29,515 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 350,074 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,023,000 after buying an additional 25,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 295.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,743,970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,313,000 after buying an additional 2,049,268 shares during the last quarter. 71.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Medical Properties Trust Company Profile

Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, financing, and owning net-leased hospital facilities. Through sale-leaseback transactions, direct acquisitions and recapitalizations, the company provides capital to healthcare operators while maintaining long-term, triple-net lease agreements. Its portfolio encompasses general acute care hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and other healthcare-related real estate assets and is structured to deliver stable, long-duration rental income streams.

Founded in 2003 and based in Birmingham, Alabama, Medical Properties Trust completed its initial public offering in 2004.