U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

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

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on USPH shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday, December 15th.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 662 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $52,205.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 30,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Binstein sold 3,000 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 24,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,030,141.88. This trade 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of USPH. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of USPH opened at $73.90 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $80.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.04, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 1-year low of $62.77 and a 1-year high of $93.50.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67. The firm had revenue of $202.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 5.07% and a return on equity of 8.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio 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.