Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $3.80 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Medical Properties Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $2.25 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Medical Properties Trust from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $4.50 to $2.00 in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Medical Properties Trust from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Medical Properties Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and an average target price of $2.68.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Medical Properties Trust stock opened at $1.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $986.41 million, a P/E ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 3.92, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Medical Properties Trust has a 12 month low of $1.62 and a 12 month high of $6.47. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $2.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.21.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.02). Medical Properties Trust had a net margin of 24.14% and a return on equity of 5.45%. The firm had revenue of $250.14 million during the quarter. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $347,673,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Medical Properties Trust by 1.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,559,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,681,000 after purchasing an additional 397,627 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Medical Properties Trust in the second quarter valued at about $33,903,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Medical Properties Trust in the second quarter valued at about $30,483,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Medical Properties Trust in the second quarter valued at about $28,285,000. 71.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Medical Properties Trust

Medical Properties Trust is a real estate investment trust that owns and invests in healthcare facilities, with a primary focus on hospitals. The company leases its properties to healthcare operators and may provide financing related to the acquisition or development of medical facilities. Founded in 2003, Medical Properties Trust has built a portfolio of properties serving acute-care, behavioral health, rehabilitation and other healthcare needs. Its investments have included facilities in the United States and international markets.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.