U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barrington Research dropped their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE USPH traded up $1.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $67.76. 86,875 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 106,902. U.S. Physical Therapy has a twelve month low of $62.77 and a twelve month high of $108.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.09, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $75.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.04). U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 3.54%. The business had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.10 million. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. This is a boost from U.S. Physical Therapy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio is currently 97.83%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total value of $142,050.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $588,564.48. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Physical Therapy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of USPH. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 13.6% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,714 shares of the company's stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 667,868 shares of the company's stock worth $56,522,000 after acquiring an additional 99,244 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 12.7% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 11,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 343,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,040,000 after buying an additional 4,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 79,817 shares of the company's stock worth $6,755,000 after buying an additional 766 shares during the last quarter.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

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.