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 Monday. Stock investors bought 120,512 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 97% compared to the average daily volume of 61,211 put options.

Medical Properties Trust Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:MPW opened at $3.93 on Tuesday. Medical Properties Trust has a 52 week low of $2.92 and a 52 week high of $6.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $4.15 and its 200-day moving average is $4.65. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.29.

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -7.58%.

Insider Activity at Medical Properties Trust

In other news, CAO James Kevin Hanna sold 11,641 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.72, for a total value of $43,304.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Silver Point Capital L.P. increased its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 155.3% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 3,650,000 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 353.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,525,714 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $20,625,000 after buying an additional 2,748,245 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 378.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 885,983 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,183,000 after acquiring an additional 700,783 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,045,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in Medical Properties Trust during the second quarter worth $2,066,000. 71.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MPW. Truist Financial cut their price target on 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. Wolfe Research raised shares of Medical Properties Trust to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.92.

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.