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Medical Properties (MPW) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

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Medical Properties (MPW - Free Report) closed the latest trading day at $5.90, indicating a -0.51% change from the previous session's end. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.4%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.62%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.6%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the health care real estate investment trust had gained 34.47% over the past month. This has outpaced the Finance sector's gain of 0.85% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.71% in that time.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Medical Properties in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.20, down 47.37% from the prior-year quarter. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $241.18 million, reflecting a 21.33% fall from the equivalent quarter last year.

MPW's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $0.85 per share and revenue of $1.01 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -46.54% and +15.8%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Medical Properties should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 5.83% downward. Currently, Medical Properties is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, Medical Properties is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 7. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.2.

Meanwhile, MPW's PEG ratio is currently 0.87. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The average PEG ratio for the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry stood at 2.51 at the close of the market yesterday.

The REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry is part of the Finance sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 88, this industry ranks in the top 35% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.


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