U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Upgraded by Bank of America to Buy Rating

Bank of America upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $115.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $100.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on USPH. StockNews.com raised U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, U.S. Physical Therapy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:USPH opened at $95.71 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.82, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.46. 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 $76.18 and a 12 month high of $113.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.85.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is currently 187.23%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total transaction of $49,665.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,970,141.25. This trade represents a 2.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nancy Ham sold 1,172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.72, for a total transaction of $113,355.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,552.64. This trade represents a 51.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,412 shares of company stock worth $706,605 over the last quarter. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 5.1% during the third quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Martin Capital Advisors LLP increased its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Martin Capital Advisors LLP now owns 13,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000.

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.