U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

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

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $113.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barrington Research cut their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE USPH opened at $71.15 on Thursday. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 12 month low of $62.77 and a 12 month high of $108.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.69, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.44.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $183.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $176.78 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.83%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $588,564.48. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Physical Therapy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 726 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000.

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.