For numerous valid reasons Medical Property Trust (MPW 5.34%) has generally been an unpopular stock this year. However, you wouldn’t know that from the real estate investment trust’s (REIT) performance on Thursday, as its price rose more than 5% on news of a major divestment. That performance far exceeded that of the S&P500which rose by 1.6% during the day.

A significant sale of assets

Shortly after the market closed on Wednesday, Medical Properties Trust announced that it had completed the sale of 11 of its properties in Colorado, which were acquired by the University of Colorado Health for $86 million.

For its money, University of Colorado Health will receive 11 freestanding healthcare properties in the western state. These include primary care and emergency care facilities, among others. The development of the properties was financed by the Medical Properties Trust for Adeptus Health between 2015 and 2017. After that company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, University of Colorado Health began leasing the facilities.

The REIT said the total acquisition cost of the eleven properties was $64 million, meaning it made a good profit from the sale.

The company added that it would use the proceeds from the deal to pay down debt and for “general corporate purposes.” It did not provide any more details.

Improving finances

Medical Properties Trust was one company that had some good news to shareholder, as it hit the third rail of REITs earlier this month by cutting its dividend. While this wasn’t exactly surprising given the significant challenges the company is facing, since it’s a REIT, many shareholders invest in the company purely for the dividend. For them, the hope is that the sale of the Colorado assets will be one of several steps that will help significantly improve its finances.