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

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 17,517 call options on the company. This is an increase of 44% compared to the average volume of 12,158 call options.

Medical Properties Trust Price Performance

MPT traded up $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $4.86. 1,560,084 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,179,808. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.14 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 3.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.82. Medical Properties Trust has a 12-month low of $3.95 and a 12-month high of $6.47.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.10). Medical Properties Trust had a negative net margin of 12.59% and a negative return on equity of 2.70%. The firm had revenue of $252.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $252.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. Medical Properties Trust’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 18th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -171.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Medical Properties Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $4.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $4.50.

About Medical Properties Trust

Medical Properties Trust, Inc (NYSE: MPT) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and finances hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Founded in 2003 by Edward K. Aldag Jr., the company’s business model centers on providing real estate capital to healthcare operators through long-term leases, sale-leaseback transactions, build-to-suit developments and mortgage financing. By specializing in healthcare real estate, MPT aims to deliver steady rental income and asset-based returns while enabling operators to access capital for clinical operations and growth.

The company’s portfolio primarily comprises acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, long-term acute care facilities, behavioral health centers and other specialty hospitals.