Brokerages Set Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) Price Target at $6.17

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $6.1667.

A number of analysts have recently commented on MPW shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Medical Properties Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 3.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 67,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 2,085 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 151,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 2,129 shares during the period. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 180,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,480 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Medical Properties Trust by 25.0% during the second quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Medical Properties Trust by 1.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 188,994 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $815,000 after acquiring an additional 2,780 shares during the period. 71.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Up 0.7%

MPW stock opened at $5.09 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.31 and a beta of 1.44. Medical Properties Trust has a 12 month low of $3.51 and a 12 month high of $6.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68.

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

Medical Properties Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is a boost from Medical Properties Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -30.51%.

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.