Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPT) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $2.97 and last traded at $2.98, with a volume of 558,486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MPT. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $3.80 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Medical Properties Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Medical Properties Trust presently has an average rating of “Sell” and an average target price of $4.15.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.12 and a quick ratio of 3.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.50 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.45.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.15. Medical Properties Trust had a negative net margin of 2.96% and a negative return on equity of 0.66%. The firm had revenue of $259.28 million for the quarter. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Medical Properties Trust, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.6%. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -600.00%.

Institutional Trading of Medical Properties Trust

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MPT. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Medical Properties Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Medical Properties Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. NFSG Corp acquired a new stake in Medical Properties Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Medical Properties Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Mainsail Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Medical Properties Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

About Medical Properties Trust

Medical Properties Trust, Inc (NYSE: MPT) is a real estate investment trust focused on owning and investing in healthcare facilities. The company primarily acquires and leases hospitals and other healthcare properties to healthcare operators under long-term agreements, providing real estate capital that can support facility expansion, modernization and operations.

Its portfolio has historically included general acute-care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, behavioral health facilities and other specialized healthcare properties.