Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) Shares Down 4.9% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) fell 4.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $5.20 and last traded at $5.21. 5,376,507 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 17,486,291 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.48.

Specifically, Director Michael G. Stewart sold 32,780 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.46, for a total value of $178,978.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 221,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,997.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Colliers Securities raised Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Medical Properties Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $6.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Medical Properties Trust to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Medical Properties Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.22.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.77, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 2.93.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.54) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.75). The company had revenue of $266.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $259.53 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Medical Properties Trust, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medical Properties Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.72%. Medical Properties Trust’s payout ratio is -11.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 3.4% in the third quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 58,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 405,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after buying an additional 2,246 shares in the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 59,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 2,715 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 167,722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 3,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Collective Family Office LLC lifted its position in Medical Properties Trust by 16.8% in the first quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 21,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares during the last quarter. 71.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.