U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Receives $109.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $109.00.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on USPH shares. Bank of America raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com cut U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barrington Research dropped their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of USPH opened at $71.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 12 month low of $71.11 and a 12 month high of $113.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.25 and its 200-day moving average is $86.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 76.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.04). U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The company had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.10 million. Equities research analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,168 shares in the company, valued at $588,564.48. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy in the third quarter valued at $356,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 57.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 3,973 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 283.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after buying an additional 12,445 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 57.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 18.8% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 160,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,578,000 after acquiring an additional 25,393 shares during the period.

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.