U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $104.50.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on USPH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on U.S. Physical Therapy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday, December 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 662 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $52,205.32. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 30,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,371,951.08. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Binstein sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total value of $244,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,030,141.88. This represents a 10.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 2.00% 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 79,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,733,000 after buying an additional 2,594 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 249.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,568,000 after acquiring an additional 35,191 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 131,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,288,000 after acquiring an additional 6,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 7.4% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:USPH opened at $77.32 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $83.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.08. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 52-week low of $62.77 and a 52-week high of $93.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.30.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.67. The company had revenue of $202.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 5.07%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 129.58%.

U.S. Physical Therapy Company Profile

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc (NYSE: USPH) is a leading owner and operator of outpatient physical therapy clinics across the United States. The company delivers rehabilitative care to patients recovering from orthopedic injuries, neurological disorders and chronic conditions. Its core services include one-on-one physical therapy sessions, aquatic therapy, occupational therapy, massage therapy and sports medicine programs designed to restore mobility and enhance quality of life.

In addition to traditional rehabilitation services, U.S.