Medical Properties (MPW) closed the most recent trading day at $5.95, moving +0.85% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.13% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.33%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.39%.

The the stock of health care real estate investment trust has risen by 33.18% in the past month, leading the Finance sector's gain of 1.5% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.43%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Medical Properties in its upcoming release. In that report, analysts expect Medical Properties to post earnings of $0.20 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 47.37%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $241.18 million, indicating a 21.33% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $0.85 per share and a revenue of $1.01 billion, indicating changes of -46.54% and +15.8%, respectively, from the former year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Medical Properties. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 5.83% lower. At present, Medical Properties boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Medical Properties's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 6.96. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 13.02, which means Medical Properties is trading at a discount to the group.

It's also important to note that MPW currently trades at a PEG ratio of 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 REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.46 as of yesterday's close.

The REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry is part of the Finance sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 85, positioning it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries.

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 follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

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

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research