Medical Properties Trust Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MPT)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPT) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 29,713 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 106% compared to the average daily volume of 14,457 put options.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of MPT traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $2.84. 23,907,142 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,380,532. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3.71 and a 200 day moving average of $4.45. Medical Properties Trust has a 1-year low of $2.77 and a 1-year high of $6.47. The company has a quick ratio of 3.12, a current ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of -47.33 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -600.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $3.80 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Medical Properties Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $4.15.

Institutional Trading of Medical Properties Trust

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

Medical Properties Trust Company Profile

Medical Properties Trust, Inc (NYSE: MPT) is a real estate investment trust focused on owning and investing in healthcare facilities. The company primarily acquires and leases hospitals and other healthcare properties to healthcare operators under long-term agreements, providing real estate capital that can support facility expansion, modernization and operations.

Its portfolio has historically included general acute-care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, behavioral health facilities and other specialized healthcare properties.