Top 5 Defensive Stocks To Own Right Now

Top 5 Defensive Stocks To Own Right Now: Medical Properties Trust Inc (MPW)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc., incorporated on August 27, 2003, is a self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing in and owning net-leased healthcare facilities. The Company conducts substantially all of its business through MPT Operating Partnership, L.P. The Company acquires and develops healthcare facilities and leases the facilities to healthcare operating companies under long-term net leases, which require the tenant to bear the costs associated with the property. The Company also makes mortgage loans to healthcare operators collateralized by their real estate assets. In addition, the Company selectively makes loans to certain of its operators through its taxable REIT subsidiaries. In September 2013, Medical Properties Trust Inc completed the acquisition of the real estate of three acute care hospitals operated by IASIS Healthcare LLC.

As of February 18, 2013, the Company's portfolio consists of 82 properties: 69 facilities (of the 74 facilities that the Company owns) are leased to 23 tenants, five are under development, and the remainder are in the form of mortgage loans to three operators. The Company's owned facilities consist of 27 general acute care hospitals, 24 long-term acute care hospitals, 15 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, two medical office buildings, and six wellness centers. The non-owned facilities on which the Company has made mortgage loans consist of three general acute care facilities, two long-term acute care hospitals, and three inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. At December 31, 2012, no one property accounted for more than 5% of the Company's total assets.

At December 31, 2012, the Company had leases with 22 hospital operating companies, eight mortgaged loans, six under development, and one property under re-development covering 82 facilities. E! rnest leased 12 of these facilities pursuant to a master lease agreement. The master lease agreement has a 20-year t erm with three five-year extension options and provides for ! an initial rental rate of 9%, with consumer price-indexed increases, limited to a 2% floor and 5% ceiling annually thereafter. At December 31, 2012, these facilities had an average remaining lease term of approximately 19 years. In addition to the master lease, the Company holds a mortgage loan on four facilities owned by affiliates of Ernest.

Affiliates of Prime Healthcare Services, Inc. (Prime) leased 11 facilities pursuant to master lease agreements. The master leases are for 10 years commencing July 3, 2012 and contain two renewal options of five years each. The initial lease rate is generally consistent with the blended average rate of the prior lease agreements. However, the annual escalators, which in the prior leases were limited, have been increased to reflect 100% of CPI increases, along with a 2% minimum floor. The master leases include repurchase options substantially similar to those in the prior leases, including provisions establishing minimum rep urchase prices equal to the Company's total investment. In addition to leases, the Company holds mortgage loans on three facilities owned by affiliates of Prime.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brad Thomas]

  A Bank of America (BOA) downgrade sends Medical Properties Trust (MPW) tumbling. The bank cut the shares to Underperform from Neutral citing the REIT's YTD outperformance relative to the sector overall (it has outpaced healthcare REITs two to one). Put simply, funds from operations "multiple expansion has exceeded fundamental trends." SA contributor Brad Thomas claims MPW is an example of mispriced risk.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  It was an impressive quarter for Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW  ) . In its Q1 report, revenues amounted to $58 million, up 42% from the $41 million in ! the same ! period the previous year. Attributable net profit advanced much more strongly, growing 148% to $26 million ($0.18 per diluted share) from Q1 2012's figure of $11 million ($0.08). Funds from operations -- a key metric for real estate investment trusts -- came in at $35 million ($0.25 per diluted share) on a normalized basis, compared with $22 million ($0.18) in the year-ago quarter.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Real estate investment trust Medical Properties Trust  (NYSE: MPW  )  announced yesterday its second-quarter dividend of $0.20 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2008.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-defensive-stocks-to-own-right-now-4.html