A Yield to Caution

Article Excerpt

MEDICAL FACILITIES CORP. $16 (Toronto symbol DR; Shares outstanding: 31.0 million; Market cap: $496.0 million; Dividend yield: 7.3%; www.medicalfacilitiescorp. ca) owns majority interest in seven surgical hospitals in South Dakota, Indiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The company also has an outpatient surgical clinic in California. Those profitable operations let Medical Facilities pay a monthly dividend of $0.0975. The annual rate of $1.17 a share yields a high 7.3%. Demand for the company’s services will rise as the population ages. Moreover, surgeons practicing at its facilities hold a minority stake in the business. That reduces turnover. However, Medical Facilities relies on a small number of hospitals for its cash flow. Moreover, those health-care operations are subject to constantly changing rules and requirements for hospitals and physicians. This could include new regulations or any changes that U.S. President Donald Trump makes to the country’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (known as Obamacare). That adds uncertainty to the outlook for Medical Facilities—as does its plan to grow…