U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Raised to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, November 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.50.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

NYSE:USPH opened at $76.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 54.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.18. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 662 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,371,951.08. This trade represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Binstein sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total value of $244,920.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.8% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period.

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.