U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.75.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on USPH shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $113.00 to $98.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Up 0.4%

USPH opened at $59.23 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.22 and its 200-day moving average is $79.53. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 1-year low of $58.19 and a 1-year high of $93.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $895.62 million, a P/E ratio of 118.47, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.21.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $198.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.94 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 368.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 662 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $52,205.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 30,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,371,951.08. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Binstein sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total transaction of $244,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,030,141.88. This represents a 10.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Physical Therapy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,085,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,754,000 after purchasing an additional 15,712 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 836,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,729,000 after purchasing an additional 50,717 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 507,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,035,000 after purchasing an additional 15,668 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 474,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,325,000 after purchasing an additional 153,054 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 370,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,949,000 after purchasing an additional 24,848 shares during the period.

U.S. Physical Therapy Company Profile

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc (NYSE: USPH) is a leading owner and operator of outpatient physical therapy clinics across the United States. The company delivers rehabilitative care to patients recovering from orthopedic injuries, neurological disorders and chronic conditions. Its core services include one-on-one physical therapy sessions, aquatic therapy, occupational therapy, massage therapy and sports medicine programs designed to restore mobility and enhance quality of life.

In addition to traditional rehabilitation services, U.S.