Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (MPW) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.15 on May 1st

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th.

Medical Properties Trust has decreased its dividend by an average of 1.6% annually over the last three years. Medical Properties Trust has a dividend payout ratio of 111.1% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Medical Properties Trust to earn $1.18 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.8%.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Down 2.5 %

MPW stock opened at $4.62 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.36. Medical Properties Trust has a one year low of $2.92 and a one year high of $10.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 370,904 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,822,000 after buying an additional 31,517 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Medical Properties Trust by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 1,108,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,444,000 after acquiring an additional 8,385 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 208,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 40,000 shares in the last quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 38,180 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 15,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,167,418 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,372,000 after purchasing an additional 314,798 shares in the last quarter. 71.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a report on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com lowered Medical Properties Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Medical Properties Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $2.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Medical Properties Trust from $8.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Colliers Securities cut shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $10.00 to $4.25 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.48.

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.