JPMorgan Chase & Co. Initiates Coverage on U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has restated its "overweight" rating on U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE: USPH), with a price target of $110.00, suggesting a potential upside of approximately 39.63% from its current price.
• U.S. Physical Therapy reported a quarterly EPS of $0.81, beating expectations, and experienced an 18.0% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity showed a decrease in ownership for some executives, with a total of 6,853 shares sold worth about $581,406 in the last ninety days.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.25.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock traded down $1.71 during trading on Thursday, hitting $78.44. 246,355 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 113,523. The company has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.47. U.S. Physical Therapy has a twelve month low of $62.77 and a twelve month high of $101.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $80.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.44.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $197.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.24 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. U.S. Physical Therapy's payout ratio is presently 78.60%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, CEO Christopher J. Reading sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.53, for a total value of $167,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 114,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,529,770.64. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Nancy Ham sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.71, for a total transaction of $49,026.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,929.74. The trade was a 23.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,853 shares of company stock worth $581,406 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 952.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 442 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 171.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 90.6% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 35.7% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 570 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 71.9% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 667 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period.

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.