U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Stock Price Down 12.9% After Earnings Miss

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)’s share price traded down 12.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $74.01 and last traded at $76.6550. 45,833 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 144,110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.05.

The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $140.66 million for the quarter. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 8.78%.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total value of $60,104.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,394,546.88. This trade represents a 2.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,792 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.57, for a total transaction of $155,133.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 22,246 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,836.22. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,853 shares of company stock worth $581,406. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Physical Therapy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of USPH. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 346,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,070,000 after buying an additional 29,671 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 2nd quarter worth about $481,000. Index Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy in the 2nd quarter worth about $352,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $85.72 and a 200 day moving average of $79.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18.

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.