Medical Properties Trust Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:MPW)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 121,286 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 94% compared to the average volume of 62,458 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.92.

Medical Properties Trust Price Performance

MPW traded down $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $4.78. 7,032,671 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,959,352. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 2.38. Medical Properties Trust has a 12 month low of $3.51 and a 12 month high of $6.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.13, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.64.

Medical Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.70%. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -7.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medical Properties Trust news, CAO James Kevin Hanna sold 11,641 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.72, for a total transaction of $43,304.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 366,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,364,916.36. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,742,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,446,000 after buying an additional 58,828 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 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. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,309,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,921,000 after buying an additional 2,385,081 shares during the last quarter. Silver Point Capital L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 155.3% in the 3rd quarter. Silver Point Capital L.P. now owns 6,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,100,000 after acquiring an additional 3,650,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilsey Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Medical Properties Trust by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,652,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $18,379,000 after acquiring an additional 362,582 shares during the last quarter. 71.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Medical Properties Trust

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.