Contrasting Healthcare Trust (NASDAQ:HTIBP) and Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT)

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) and Healthcare Trust (NASDAQ:HTIBP) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Medical Properties Trust	-12.59%	-2.70%	-0.84%
Healthcare Trust	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Medical Properties Trust and Healthcare Trust”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Medical Properties Trust	$1.00 billion	2.81	-$277.05 million	($0.21)	-22.38
Healthcare Trust	$352.84 million	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Healthcare Trust has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Medical Properties Trust.

Dividends

Medical Properties Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.7%. Healthcare Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.1%. Medical Properties Trust pays out -171.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Medical Properties Trust and Healthcare Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Medical Properties Trust	1	1	0	0	1.50
Healthcare Trust	0	0	0	0	0.00

Medical Properties Trust presently has a consensus target price of $4.50, suggesting a potential downside of 4.26%. Given Medical Properties Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Medical Properties Trust is more favorable than Healthcare Trust.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

71.8% of Medical Properties Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Medical Properties Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Medical Properties Trust beats Healthcare Trust on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Healthcare Trust

Healthcare Trust, Inc. is a publicly registered real estate investment trust focused on acquiring a diversified portfolio of healthcare real estate, with an emphasis on seniors housing and medical office buildings, located in the United States.