Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 191,032 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 188% compared to the typical daily volume of 66,320 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPW. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Medical Properties Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 2,447.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 7,974 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 7,661 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 861.5% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 8,615 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Down 11.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MPW opened at $4.43 on Friday. Medical Properties Trust has a 1 year low of $2.92 and a 1 year high of $10.74. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of -4.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $4.20 and its 200 day moving average is $4.36.

Medical Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.54%. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -63.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Medical Properties Trust from $8.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Medical Properties Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Medical Properties Trust from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Medical Properties Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.75.

Medical Properties Trust Company Profile

Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a self-advised real estate investment trust formed in 2003 to acquire and develop net-leased hospital facilities. From its inception in Birmingham, Alabama, the Company has grown to become one of the world's largest owners of hospital real estate with 441 facilities and approximately 44,000 licensed beds as of September 30, 2023.