U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• U.S. Physical Therapy shares rose above their 200-day moving average, trading near $88.81 versus the average of $74.40, signaling positive recent momentum.
• Analyst sentiment is generally favorable: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $98.25 average price target, with Barrington Research raising its target to $98 and JPMorgan to $95.
• The company’s latest quarter showed revenue growth of 8.5% year over year to $214.06 million, but earnings per share of $0.75 missed estimates of $0.81. Shares also carry a 2.1% dividend yield, though the reported payout ratio is exceptionally high.

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $74.40 and traded as high as $88.87. U.S. Physical Therapy shares last traded at $88.8120, with a volume of 129,475 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USPH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barrington Research lifted their price target on U.S. Physical Therapy from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.25.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 522.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $81.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.06). U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.97% and a return on equity of 9.39%. The company had revenue of $214.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. U.S. Physical Therapy's payout ratio is presently 1,082.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of USPH. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the second quarter valued at approximately $155,505,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 940,528 shares of the company's stock worth $80,632,000 after purchasing an additional 98,984 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 554,621 shares of the company's stock worth $41,574,000 after purchasing an additional 54,656 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 507,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,035,000 after purchasing an additional 15,668 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,013,000.

U.S. Physical Therapy Company Profile

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc NYSE: USPH operates outpatient physical therapy clinics throughout the United States. The company provides treatment and rehabilitation services for patients recovering from injuries, surgeries, illnesses and other conditions that affect movement, strength and physical function.

In addition to company-operated clinics, U.S. Physical Therapy develops and manages physical therapy practices in partnership with local physical therapists. Its services generally include orthopedic and sports rehabilitation, post-operative therapy, treatment for musculoskeletal conditions and other forms of outpatient rehabilitation.

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