Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPT) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 64,957 put options on the company. This is an increase of 232% compared to the typical volume of 19,568 put options.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

Medical Properties Trust stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $1.87. The stock had a trading volume of 12,887,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,282,921. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.31. Medical Properties Trust has a 52-week low of $1.85 and a 52-week high of $6.47. The company has a current ratio of 3.92, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $250.14 million for the quarter. Medical Properties Trust had a net margin of 24.14% and a return on equity of 5.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 19.3%. Medical Properties Trust’s payout ratio is 87.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MPT. Weiss Ratings downgraded Medical Properties Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Medical Properties Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $2.25 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $4.50 to $2.00 in a research report on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $2.68.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the second quarter valued at about $347,673,000. State Street Corp purchased a new position in Medical Properties Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $118,522,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,903,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the second quarter worth about $30,483,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,285,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

Medical Properties Trust Company Profile

Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a healthcare-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and invests in healthcare facilities. Its portfolio has historically included hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term acute-care hospitals, behavioral health facilities and other properties used by healthcare providers.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, the company primarily generates income by leasing properties to healthcare operators under long-term agreements.