U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $75.96 and last traded at $76.63, with a volume of 5868 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USPH has been the topic of a number of research reports. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barrington Research dropped their price objective 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. Finally, JMP Securities initiated 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 objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, U.S. Physical Therapy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.50.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $85.69 and its 200 day moving average is $87.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 3.54%. As a group, analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.83%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total value of $142,050.30. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,564.48. This represents a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 35,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,172,000 after purchasing an additional 9,395 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,229,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 10,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 30,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,741,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300 shares during the last quarter.

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.