On Thursday, everyone’s attention was on Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE: MPW), which earlier in the week had been the subject of some peculiar options trading activity. Investors purchased a total of 52,629 put options, giving them the right to sell stock in the company. Compared to the average daily volume of 28,785 put options that are traded, this demonstrates an increase of 83 percent in the volume of put options that are traded.
When trading started on Thursday, the price of an individual share of MPW was $11.86. The debt-to-equity ratio, the current ratio, and the quick ratio are all equal to 1.07. The current ratio is 1.98, and the current and quick ratios are also 1.98. The company’s share price has fluctuated between $11.74 and $14.03 on a moving average over the past 50 and 200 trading days, respectively. The company’s market capitalization of $7.09 billion can be attributed to several factors, including its price-to-earnings ratio of 5.70, its price-to-growth ratio of 0.65, and its beta value of 0.84. Over the previous year, the price of Medical Properties Trust has ranged from a low of $9.90 to a high of $24.13, with an average price of $21.06.
In recent times, several distinct research companies have presented their perspectives on MPW. In a research note that Barclays distributed on Friday, October 21, the “overweight” rating assigned to Medical Properties Trust was changed to a “neutral” rating. In addition, Barclays cut their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $19.00, bringing it closer to the current price. On Thursday, September 22, Raymond James released a research note that lowered their price objective for Medical Properties Trust from $20.00 to $18.00 and rated the stock as a “strong buy.” The shares were also given a “buy” rating by Raymond James. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Medical Properties Trust from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report made available to the public on Friday, December 2. The Royal Bank of Canada announced, in a research note made public on Tuesday, October 4, that the price goal for Medical Properties Trust would be reduced from $20.00 to $18.00. Finally, in a research note published on Monday, November 14, Bank of America raised their price objective for shares of Medical Properties Trust from $13.00 to $16.00 while simultaneously downgrading the stock from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating. This was the last and most important change that the company made. They explained their choice by stating that it was derived from their situation evaluation. There are a total of six research analysts who advise investors to maintain their current holdings of the stock. Four analysts have a buy rating for the stock, while the remaining analyst has a strong buy rating. The website Bloomberg.com reports that the company has been assigned a rating of “Moderate Buy” on average and that the price objective has been set to $17.27.
In addition, the company just recently announced a quarterly dividend, scheduled to be paid out on the 12th of this month. Shareholders who are “recorded” as of December 8 will be eligible to receive a $0.29 dividend payment per share. As a direct result of this fact, the dividend yield totals 9.78%, and the annual payout amounts to $1.16. This coming Wednesday, December 7, marks the date shareholders will no longer receive dividend payments. At this time, 55.77% of dividends distributed by Medical Properties Trust are paid out.
Over the past few months, a number of hedge funds have increased the percentage of their holdings that are invested in the company. The Bank of Nova Scotia successfully acquired an additional 60.2% of the outstanding shares of Medical Properties Trust during the first three months of 2018. After making an additional purchase of 5,965 shares during the most recent quarter, the Bank of Nova Scotia now holds a total of 15,875 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, which have a combined value of $336,000. This brings the total number of shares owned by the financial institution to $336,000. Over the first three months of 2018, Boston Partners achieved a 3.0% increase in the proportion of Medical Properties Trust shares it owned. After making an additional purchase of 882 shares during the most recent quarter, Boston Partners’ portfolio now contains 640,000 of the real estate investment trust’s shares. Each share has a value of $30.277, and the portfolio currently has a value of $30,277. The Treasurer of the State of North Carolina was responsible for the 1.6% increase in the state’s holdings in the Medical Properties Trust during the first three months of 2018. Following the acquisition of a further 3,455 shares during the most recent quarter, the Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now holds a total of 217,729 shares of the real estate investment trust, which are currently valued at $4,603,000. This brings the total number of shares owned by the Treasurer to 217,729; Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in the Medical Properties Trust by approximately $29,000 during the first quarter of this year by making an additional investment of approximately $29,000 in this investment.
Last but not least, during the first quarter of this year, Van ECK Associates Corp. increased the percentage of Medical Properties Trust shares it owned by a whopping 395.2 percent. As a result of the company’s purchase of 182,979 additional shares during the most recent fiscal quarter, Van ECK Associates Corp. now owns a total of 229,279 shares in the real estate investment trust. These shares have a value of $4,847,000 and makeup Van ECK Associates Corp.’s real estate investment trust portfolio. In addition, shares of the company are owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors, who collectively account for 80.34% of the total.
A real estate investment trust known as Medical Facilities Trust, Inc. was established in 2003 to purchase and expand net-leased hospital properties. This REIT is self-advised and goes by the name Medical Facilities Trust, Inc. yedo astmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmastmas This places the company among the top five largest hospital ownership groups in the entire world.
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