Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT – Get Free Report) and Welltower (NYSE:WELL – Get Free Report) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and dividends.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
71.8% of Medical Properties Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.8% of Welltower shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Medical Properties Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Welltower shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Medical Properties Trust and Welltower, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Medical Properties Trust | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 |
| Welltower | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 2.82 |
Profitability
This table compares Medical Properties Trust and Welltower’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Medical Properties Trust | -2.96% | -0.66% | -0.20% |
| Welltower | 12.15% | 3.56% | 2.35% |
Risk and Volatility
Medical Properties Trust has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Welltower has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Medical Properties Trust and Welltower”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Medical Properties Trust | $972.02 million | 2.49 | -$277.05 million | ($0.06) | -67.50 |
| Welltower | $12.59 billion | 13.51 | $936.84 million | $2.18 | 108.24 |
Welltower has higher revenue and earnings than Medical Properties Trust. Medical Properties Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Welltower, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Medical Properties Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.9%. Welltower pays an annual dividend of $3.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Medical Properties Trust pays out -600.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Welltower pays out 156.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Welltower has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Medical Properties Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Summary
Welltower beats Medical Properties Trust on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Medical Properties Trust
Medical Properties Trust, Inc. is a self-advised real estate investment trust formed to capitalize on the changing trends in healthcare delivery by acquiring and developing net-leased healthcare facilities. MPT’s financing model allows hospitals and other healthcare facilities to unlock the value of their underlying real estate in order to fund facility improvements, technology upgrades, staff additions and new construction. Facilities include acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, and other medical and surgical facilities.
About Welltower
Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL), a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) and S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. Welltower invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people’s wellness and overall health care experience. Welltower owns interests in properties concentrated in major, high-growth markets in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, consisting of seniors housing and post-acute communities and outpatient medical properties.
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