UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) and U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.
Volatility & Risk
UnitedHealth Group has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U.S. Physical Therapy has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares UnitedHealth Group and U.S. Physical Therapy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| UnitedHealth Group | 3.53% | 17.95% | 5.95% |
| U.S. Physical Therapy | 3.60% | 10.00% | 3.78% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares UnitedHealth Group and U.S. Physical Therapy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| UnitedHealth Group | $449.66 billion | 0.79 | $12.06 billion | $17.51 | 22.54 |
| U.S. Physical Therapy | $780.99 million | 1.90 | $39.58 million | $0.17 | 586.56 |
UnitedHealth Group has higher revenue and earnings than U.S. Physical Therapy. UnitedHealth Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than U.S. Physical Therapy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
UnitedHealth Group pays an annual dividend of $9.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. U.S. Physical Therapy pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. UnitedHealth Group pays out 53.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. U.S. Physical Therapy pays out 1,082.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. UnitedHealth Group has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years and U.S. Physical Therapy has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. UnitedHealth Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for UnitedHealth Group and U.S. Physical Therapy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| UnitedHealth Group | 0 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 2.71 |
| U.S. Physical Therapy | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2.86 |
UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus price target of $463.93, indicating a potential upside of 17.56%. U.S. Physical Therapy has a consensus price target of $98.25, indicating a potential downside of 1.47%. Given UnitedHealth Group’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe UnitedHealth Group is more favorable than U.S. Physical Therapy.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
87.9% of UnitedHealth Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of UnitedHealth Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of U.S. Physical Therapy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
UnitedHealth Group beats U.S. Physical Therapy on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage. The Optum Health segment provides care delivery, care management, wellness and consumer engagement, and health financial services patients, consumers, care delivery systems, providers, employers, payers, and public-sector entities. The Optum Insight segment offers software and information products, advisory consulting arrangements, and managed services outsourcing contracts to hospital systems, physicians, health plans, governments, life sciences companies, and other organizations. The Optum Rx segment provides pharmacy care services and programs, including retail network contracting, home delivery, specialty and community health pharmacy services, infusion, and purchasing and clinical capabilities, as well as develops programs in the areas of step therapy, formulary management, drug adherence, and disease/drug therapy management. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated was founded in 1974 and is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
About U.S. Physical Therapy
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. It offers industrial injury prevention services, including onsite injury prevention and rehabilitation, performance optimization, post-offer employment testing, functional capacity evaluations, and ergonomic assessments through physical therapists and specialized certified athletic trainers for Fortune 500 companies, and other clients comprising insurers and their contractors. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is based in Houston, Texas.
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