U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on USPH. Citizens Jmp raised U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barrington Research cut their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JMP Securities began coverage on U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock traded down $3.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.52. 26,374 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 104,882. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.38. U.S. Physical Therapy has a twelve month low of $62.77 and a twelve month high of $108.14. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.52.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $180.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 3.54%. Research analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.83%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $588,564.48. This represents a 19.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of USPH. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 3,200.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy during the fourth quarter worth $113,000.

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.