U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $87.72, but opened at $82.09. U.S. Physical Therapy shares last traded at $79.47, with a volume of 23,720 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.65 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 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented 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 company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased 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 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Physical Therapy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.00.

Insider Activity at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other U.S. Physical Therapy 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 value of $49,665.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,970,141.25. This trade represents a 2.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 0.6% in the 4th 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 during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 839,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,459,000 after acquiring an additional 72,715 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 667,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,522,000 after acquiring an additional 99,244 shares during the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 571,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,725,000 after acquiring an additional 24,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 426,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,818,000 after acquiring an additional 7,890 shares during the last quarter.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

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 market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $88.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.70.

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.