Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) Stock Price Up 7.9% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) shot up 7.9% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $5.17 and last traded at $5.15. 5,685,342 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 11,812,394 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.77.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.02.

Medical Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Medical Properties Trust’s payout ratio is -7.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MPW. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Medical Properties Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO James Kevin Hanna sold 11,641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $1,364,916.36. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Medical Properties Trust

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 230.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 4,241 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the third quarter worth $31,000. RFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 71.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Medical Properties Trust Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of -1.21, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38.

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.