U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $93.46, but opened at $96.21. U.S. Physical Therapy shares last traded at $95.81, with a volume of 9,871 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Up 4.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.43, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 187.23%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other news, insider Eric Joseph Williams sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.84, for a total transaction of $191,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,419,773.76. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Nancy Ham sold 1,172 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.72, for a total value of $113,355.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,552.64. The trade was a 51.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,412 shares of company stock worth $706,605. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 2,808.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1,291.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 515 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 2nd quarter worth $51,000.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

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.