Analysts Set U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Target Price at $104.50

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $104.50.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,371,951.08. This trade represents a 2.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Richard Binstein sold 3,000 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total transaction of $244,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,030,141.88. The trade was a 10.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of USPH. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 68.8% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 207.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

NYSE:USPH opened at $76.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.15. U.S. Physical Therapy has a fifty-two week low of $62.77 and a fifty-two week high of $93.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (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 net margin of 5.07% and a return on equity of 8.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is presently 129.58%.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

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.