Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 121,286 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 94% compared to the average volume of 62,458 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on MPW shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Medical Properties Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.92.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

NYSE MPW opened at $5.58 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.32. Medical Properties Trust has a 12-month low of $3.51 and a 12-month high of $6.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.64.

Medical Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -7.58%.

Insider Activity at Medical Properties Trust

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

Institutional Trading of Medical Properties Trust

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,742,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,446,000 after acquiring an additional 58,828 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,838,540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,912,000 after acquiring an additional 118,577 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,309,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385,081 shares during the period. Silver Point Capital L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 155.3% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Point Capital L.P. now owns 6,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,100,000 after acquiring an additional 3,650,000 shares during the period. Finally, Wilsey Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,652,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $18,379,000 after acquiring an additional 362,582 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

About Medical Properties Trust

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.