StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Credit Suisse Group restated a neutral rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Medical Properties Trust presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $14.82.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Down 3.5 %

MPW stock opened at $7.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Medical Properties Trust has a 52-week low of $7.60 and a 52-week high of $21.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.96.

Medical Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 16th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 15th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPW. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,235,362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,762,000 after buying an additional 203,908 shares in the last quarter. Gallagher Benefit Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $720,000. Cascade Investment Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,127,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 105.3% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 38,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 19,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 96,119 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,071,000 after buying an additional 5,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.31% of the company’s stock.

About Medical Properties Trust

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Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a self-advised real estate investment trust, engages in the investment, acquisition, and development of net-leased healthcare facilities. Its property portfolio includes rehabilitation hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, hospitals for women and children, regional and community hospitals, medical office buildings, and other single-discipline facilities.