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

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $109.00.

USPH has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barrington Research decreased their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total value of $142,050.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 10,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $940,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of USPH opened at $72.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.47, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51. U.S. Physical Therapy has a twelve month low of $72.15 and a twelve month high of $113.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.63.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.83%.

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.