U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the four research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $125.67.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Barrington Research upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, insider Eric Joseph Williams sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.96, for a total transaction of $157,440.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,027,197.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Clayton Trier sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total transaction of $42,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $749,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric Joseph Williams sold 1,500 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.96, for a total value of $157,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,027,197.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,829 shares of company stock valued at $1,141,535. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RK Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the 4th quarter worth $6,166,000. Norden Group LLC boosted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1,841.6% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 63,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,217,000 after purchasing an additional 60,645 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 53.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 163,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,040,000 after purchasing an additional 56,957 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 95.5% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 100,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,343,000 after buying an additional 49,013 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 427,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,791,000 after buying an additional 42,281 shares in the last quarter.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:USPH opened at $103.93 on Friday. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 12-month low of $78.08 and a 12-month high of $124.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $105.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.99, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.39.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $155.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $153.30 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is 130.37%.

U.S. Physical Therapy Company Profile

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc operates outpatient physical therapy clinics. The company operates through Physical Therapy Operations and Industrial Injury Prevention Services segments. The company provides pre-and post-operative care and treatment for orthopedic-related disorders, sports-related injuries, preventative care, rehabilitation of injured workers, and neurological-related injuries.