Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) Stock Price Down 5.4% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) shares fell 5.4% to $4.86, marking a significant decline in trading volume of 71% from the average session.
• Analysts have downgraded the company's rating, with Royal Bank Of Canada and Wells Fargo both lowering their price objectives to $4.50, while the average consensus price target stands at $5.40.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 6.6%, despite having a negative return on equity of 28.80%.

Shares of Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW - Get Free Report) were down 5.4% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $4.89 and last traded at $4.86. Approximately 2,945,612 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 10,270,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Medical Properties Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $4.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut 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 report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Medical Properties Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Medical Properties Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $5.40.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of -2.10 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 2.76 and a current ratio of 2.76. The firm's 50 day moving average is $4.36 and its 200-day moving average is $4.83.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Medical Properties Trust had a negative net margin of 155.20% and a negative return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $240.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $231.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Medical Properties Trust, Inc. will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Medical Properties Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently -13.39%.

Institutional Trading of Medical Properties Trust

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MPW. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 98.1% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,180 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 3,060 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Medical Properties Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 49.5% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,875 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,606 shares during the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in Medical Properties Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 216.8% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 8,135 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 5,567 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.79% of the company's stock.

Medical Properties Trust Company 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.