Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPT) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $3.35 and last traded at $3.37, with a volume of 1787901 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $3.80 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $4.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Medical Properties Trust currently has an average rating of “Sell” and an average target price of $4.15.

Medical Properties Trust Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -56.17 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a current ratio of 3.12.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. The business had revenue of $259.28 million for the quarter. Medical Properties Trust had a negative return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 2.96%.The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Medical Properties Trust, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Medical Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Medical Properties Trust’s payout ratio is -600.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

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

About Medical Properties Trust

Medical Properties Trust, Inc (NYSE: MPT) is a real estate investment trust focused on healthcare facilities. The company acquires, develops, owns and leases properties used by healthcare providers, with an emphasis on hospitals and other facilities that deliver essential medical services.

Medical Properties Trust has historically invested primarily in acute-care hospitals, behavioral health facilities, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and other specialized healthcare properties. Its real estate is generally leased to hospital and healthcare operators under long-term arrangements, while its investments have also included mortgage loans and other healthcare-related financing.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Medical Properties Trust has built a portfolio spanning the United States and selected international markets, including the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe.