Comparing Welltower (NYSE:WELL) & Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT)

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

71.8% of Medical Properties Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.8% of Welltower shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Medical Properties Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Welltower shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Medical Properties Trust	-2.96%	-0.66%	-0.20%
Welltower	12.15%	3.56%	2.35%

Dividends

Medical Properties Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.7%. Welltower pays an annual dividend of $3.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Medical Properties Trust pays out -600.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Welltower pays out 156.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Welltower has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Medical Properties Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Medical Properties Trust	$972.02 million	2.53	-$277.05 million	($0.06)	-68.67
Welltower	$10.84 billion	15.98	$936.84 million	$2.18	110.24

Welltower has higher revenue and earnings than Medical Properties Trust. Medical Properties Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Welltower, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Medical Properties Trust has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Welltower has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Medical Properties Trust and Welltower, 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
Welltower	0	3	14	0	2.82

Medical Properties Trust currently has a consensus price target of $4.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.22%. Welltower has a consensus price target of $246.11, suggesting a potential upside of 2.41%. Given Medical Properties Trust’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Medical Properties Trust is more favorable than Welltower.

Summary

Welltower beats Medical Properties Trust on 12 of the 17 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 Welltower

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL), a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) and S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. Welltower invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people’s wellness and overall health care experience. Welltower owns interests in properties concentrated in major, high-growth markets in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, consisting of seniors housing and post-acute communities and outpatient medical properties.