Critical Contrast: Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) and NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:NWHUF)

NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:NWHUF) and Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust and Medical Properties Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust	N/A	N/A	N/A
Medical Properties Trust	-2.96%	-0.66%	-0.20%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust and Medical Properties Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust	0	0	0	0	0.00
Medical Properties Trust	1	1	0	0	1.50

Medical Properties Trust has a consensus price target of $4.50, suggesting a potential upside of 7.40%. Given Medical Properties Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Medical Properties Trust is more favorable than NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

15.5% of NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.8% of Medical Properties Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Medical Properties Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.87 per share and has a dividend yield of 22.0%. Medical Properties Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.6%. NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust pays out -155.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Medical Properties Trust pays out -600.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust and Medical Properties Trust”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.56)	-7.04
Medical Properties Trust	$972.02 million	2.57	-$277.05 million	($0.06)	-69.83

NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Medical Properties Trust. Medical Properties Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Medical Properties Trust beats NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust

Northwest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: NWH.UN) (Northwest) is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust established under the laws of the Province of Ontario. The REIT provides investors with access to a portfolio of high-quality international healthcare real estate infrastructure comprised as at September 30, 2023, of interests in a diversified portfolio of 229 income-producing properties and 18.2 million square feet of gross leasable area located throughout major markets in Canada, the United States, Brazil, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The REIT's portfolio of medical office buildings, clinics, and hospitals is characterized by long-term indexed leases and stable occupancies. With a fully integrated and aligned senior management team, the REIT leverages over 300 professionals in ten offices in eight countries to serve as a long-term real estate partner to leading healthcare operators.

About Medical Properties Trust

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. is a self-advised real estate investment trust formed to capitalize on the changing trends in healthcare delivery by acquiring and developing net-leased healthcare facilities. MPT’s financing model allows hospitals and other healthcare facilities to unlock the value of their underlying real estate in order to fund facility improvements, technology upgrades, staff additions and new construction. Facilities include acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, and other medical and surgical facilities.