Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) Sets New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Medical Properties Trust fell to a new 52-week low of $3.20, last trading at $3.24 on heavy volume. Its 50-day and 200-day moving averages stand above the current price at $3.95 and $4.54, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment is bearish: the stock has a consensus “Sell” rating from MarketBeat, with a consensus price target of $4.15. Wells Fargo cut its target to $3.80 and assigned an “underweight” rating.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, equating to an annualized yield of approximately 11.1%; however, its payout ratio is deeply negative at -600%, while the company reported a negative net margin.

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $3.20 and last traded at $3.24, with a volume of 9321351 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Medical Properties Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. 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 report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $3.80 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. One investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Sell" and a consensus target price of $4.15.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Down 2.1%

The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of -53.83 and a beta of 1.45.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15. The firm had revenue of $259.28 million during the quarter. Medical Properties Trust had a negative return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 2.96%.Medical Properties Trust's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Medical Properties Trust, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Medical Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.1%. Medical Properties Trust's payout ratio is -600.00%.

Institutional Trading of Medical Properties Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amundi raised its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 388,683 shares of the company's stock worth $1,796,000 after purchasing an additional 6,252 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. OneAscent Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the second quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Medical Properties Trust in the second quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.79% of the company's stock.

Medical Properties Trust Company Profile

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.

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