Medical Properties Trust Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:MPW)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 41,204 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 58% compared to the typical volume of 26,039 call options.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

MPW opened at $5.01 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of -4.24 and a beta of 1.43. Medical Properties Trust has a 1 year low of $3.95 and a 1 year high of $6.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.03). Medical Properties Trust had a negative return on equity of 14.82% and a negative net margin of 75.76%.The business had revenue of $237.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. Medical Properties Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Medical Properties Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. This is an increase from Medical Properties Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -30.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MPW shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Medical Properties Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Medical Properties Trust by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,240,579 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,570,000 after purchasing an additional 313,011 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP increased its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 115.4% during the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 617,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,663,000 after buying an additional 330,946 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 1,184.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 340,305 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,725,000 after buying an additional 313,803 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in Medical Properties Trust in the second quarter valued at $691,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Medical Properties Trust by 39.5% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 655,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,827,000 after acquiring an additional 185,877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

About Medical Properties Trust

Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, financing, and owning net-leased hospital facilities. Through sale-leaseback transactions, direct acquisitions and recapitalizations, the company provides capital to healthcare operators while maintaining long-term, triple-net lease agreements. Its portfolio encompasses general acute care hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and other healthcare-related real estate assets and is structured to deliver stable, long-duration rental income streams.

Founded in 2003 and based in Birmingham, Alabama, Medical Properties Trust completed its initial public offering in 2004.