U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Sees Large Volume Increase - What's Next?

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 144,862 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 22% from the previous session's volume of 118,500 shares.The stock last traded at $77.72 and had previously closed at $79.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on USPH shares. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $113.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barrington Research dropped their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 0.2%

The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 36.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.23 and a 200-day moving average of $80.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $183.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.78 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 4.57%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. U.S. Physical Therapy's payout ratio is presently 82.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, Director Nancy Ham sold 400 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.01, for a total transaction of $31,204.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at $202,357.94. The trade was a 13.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of USPH. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,886,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 135.4% in the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 260,125 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,076,000 after purchasing an additional 149,622 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 1st quarter valued at $8,702,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy in the 4th quarter worth $6,240,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 95.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 120,893 shares of the company's stock worth $10,724,000 after purchasing an additional 59,190 shares during the period.

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.

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