MPW - Medical Properties Trust: Steward Bankruptcy Exposes Shorts To Squeeze 11.2% Dividend Yield
2024-06-10 15:06:48 ET
Summary
- Medical Properties Trust is the most shorted US REIT with 36.7% of its outstanding shares currently being sold short.
- The REIT is paying out an annualized $0.60 per share dividend for an 11.2% yield. This is 160% covered by normalized FFO.
- A replacement of Steward Health Care System with better-qualified operators in MPW-owned hospitals will drive a material reduction in the risk profile of the REIT.
After falling roughly 80% from its all-time high in 2022 but up since I last covered the ticker, Medical Properties Trust ( MPW ) has seen its largest tenant, Steward Health Care System ("SHCS") file Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The REIT now faces a materially different investment reality over the next half year. MPW is the most shorted US REIT, with 222.3 million shares short , around 36.7% of its weighted average shares outstanding. S&P Global Market places this short interest rank roughly 1500 basis points ahead of the second most shorted REIT, SL Green Realty ( SLG ). The healthcare REIT held $17.4 billion of total assets spread across 436 properties consisting of general acute facilities, behavioral health facilities, and post-acute facilities as of the end of its fiscal 2024 first quarter....
Medical Properties Trust: Steward Bankruptcy Exposes Shorts To Squeeze, 11.2% Dividend Yield