Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.45, but opened at $4.65. Medical Properties Trust shares last traded at $4.34, with a volume of 4,701,765 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MPW. Mizuho cut their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.92.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Down 0.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.64.

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.67%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. Medical Properties Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -7.58%.

Insider Transactions at Medical Properties Trust

In other news, CAO James Kevin Hanna sold 11,641 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.72, for a total transaction of $43,304.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 366,913 shares in the company, valued at $1,364,916.36. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPW. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 42.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 326,293 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 97,546 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 353,121 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 5,874 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Medical Properties Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $56,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 88.9% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 172,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 81,183 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 4.1% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 239,752 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 9,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.79% of the company's stock.

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.