Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW) offers an incredible dividend yield of 12.6%. At that rate, you could collect $1,000 in dividends annually by investing less than $8,000. Sounds great, right?

However, the yield only looks that way because the business hasn't been doing all that well; shares of Medical Properties Trust are down 42% in just the past year. And before you consider buying the stock, you should ask yourself one thing.

A high dividend yield sounds great, but if a business is struggling and it pays 12% while the share price falls by 20%, you're effectively in a worse position even with the dividend. Consider that over the past year, Medical Properties has declined 42%, meaning the total returns (including dividends) are still a net negative 36%. Over five years, the total returns are still a negative 9%.

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Source Fool.com