Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,979,094 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 66,820 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Medical Properties Trust worth $17,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MPW. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Medical Properties Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 71.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 45,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 18,754 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,838,540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,912,000 after buying an additional 118,577 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $2,114,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 367,409 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 116,355 shares in the last quarter. 71.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of MPW traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $4.13. The company had a trading volume of 8,566,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,952,448. Medical Properties Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.51 and a 1 year high of $6.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $4.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.89.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Medical Properties Trust had a negative return on equity of 31.14% and a negative net margin of 174.35%. The firm had revenue of $223.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. The company's revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Medical Properties Trust, Inc. will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Medical Properties Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -11.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Medical Properties Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $4.50 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $5.67.

Medical Properties Trust Profile

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.