Medical Properties (MPW) ended the recent trading session at $4.65, demonstrating a -0.85% swing from the preceding day's closing price. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 1.46% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.65%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 3.07%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the health care real estate investment trust had gained 25.74% over the past month. This has outpaced the Finance sector's gain of 3.29% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.08% in that time.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Medical Properties in its upcoming release. On that day, Medical Properties is projected to report earnings of $0.16 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 55.56%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $217.15 million, up 277.44% from the prior-year quarter.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Medical Properties. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Medical Properties currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Medical Properties is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 6.9. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 11.43, so one might conclude that Medical Properties is trading at a discount comparatively.

We can also see that MPW currently has a PEG ratio of 0.86. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The average PEG ratio for the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry stood at 2.22 at the close of the market yesterday.

The REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry is part of the Finance sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 164, positioning it in the bottom 35% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.

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Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (MPW) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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