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

Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the four ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $125.67.

USPH has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barrington Research lifted their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.28, for a total transaction of $193,104.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,272,834.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, insider Eric Joseph Williams sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.96, for a total transaction of $157,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,027,197.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 1,800 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.28, for a total value of $193,104.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,186 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,834.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,829 shares of company stock valued at $1,141,535. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $554,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy during the third quarter worth approximately $232,000. Cambiar Investors LLC boosted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 10.1% during the third quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 20,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,908,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy in the 3rd quarter valued at $989,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,987,000 after acquiring an additional 3,722 shares during the last quarter.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 1.6 %

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

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.07). U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The firm had revenue of $155.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $153.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. U.S. Physical Therapy’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 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.