U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the four ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $125.67.

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

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

USPH stock opened at $100.95 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $104.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 1.39. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 52-week low of $78.08 and a 52-week high of $124.11.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $154.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.24 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 4.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 130.37%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.28, for a total transaction of $193,104.00. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard Binstein sold 2,000 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.55, for a total transaction of $213,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,889.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,272,834.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,829 shares of company stock worth $1,141,535. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 308.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 754.7% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy in the first quarter valued at $380,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 348.9% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in 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.