U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Plans Dividend of $0.45

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) declared a dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, NASDAQ Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.45 per share on Friday, April 11th. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th.

U.S. Physical Therapy has raised its dividend by an average of 6.4% annually over the last three years. U.S. Physical Therapy has a dividend payout ratio of 55.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect U.S. Physical Therapy to earn $2.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 60.1%.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Down 6.2 %

U.S. Physical Therapy stock traded down $5.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $82.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 275,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 97,149. The company has a 50 day moving average of $88.41 and a 200-day moving average of $87.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 87.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78. U.S. Physical Therapy has a one year low of $76.18 and a one year high of $113.63.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last announced 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 business 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, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total value of $49,665.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USPH has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JMP Securities initiated coverage on U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citizens Jmp upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Company Profile

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.