U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

USPH has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Barrington Research lowered their target price on U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

U.S. Physical Therapy stock traded down $3.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.52. 26,374 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 104,882. U.S. Physical Therapy has a one year low of $62.77 and a one year high of $108.14. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 72.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.52. 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 (NYSE:USPH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. On average, equities analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is 97.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total transaction of $142,050.30. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $588,564.48. The trade was a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 667,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,522,000 after purchasing an additional 99,244 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 12.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 57,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,838,000 after acquiring an additional 6,154 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 343,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,040,000 after acquiring an additional 4,477 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 13.6% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter.

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.