Medical Properties Trust Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:MPW)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders bought 84,525 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 25% compared to the average volume of 67,652 put options.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

Shares of MPW opened at $4.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of -5.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.19. Medical Properties Trust has a 52-week low of $2.92 and a 52-week high of $10.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Medical Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -63.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 170,355 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 2,304 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 125,218 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 2,622 shares in the last quarter. Collective Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 21,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 376,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,850,000 after purchasing an additional 3,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association increased its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 9.7% in the third quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 42,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 3,721 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Medical Properties Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $2.00 to $5.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.75.

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.