Analysts Set U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Target Price at $111.50

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat 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 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $111.50.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on USPH. JMP Securities began 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 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report 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. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,564.48. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,084,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,179,000 after purchasing an additional 6,393 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 839,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,459,000 after purchasing an additional 72,715 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 667,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,522,000 after purchasing an additional 99,244 shares in the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 571,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,725,000 after purchasing an additional 24,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 426,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,818,000 after purchasing an additional 7,890 shares in the last quarter.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE USPH opened at $80.61 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 12-month low of $76.18 and a 12-month high of $113.63.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $180.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.10 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.83%.

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.