Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.15

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 15th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th.

Medical Properties Trust has decreased its dividend by an average of 1.6% per year over the last three years. Medical Properties Trust has a dividend payout ratio of 111.1% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Medical Properties Trust to earn $1.18 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.8%.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Up 18.8 %

NYSE:MPW opened at $4.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.26. Medical Properties Trust has a 52 week low of $2.92 and a 52 week high of $10.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.37.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 1,247.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 4,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 4,266 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 43.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,649 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the first quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Medical Properties Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $8.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Medical Properties Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.48.

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.