U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 321,378 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 179% from the previous session's volume of 115,393 shares.The stock last traded at $77.96 and had previously closed at $78.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USPH has been the subject of a number of research reports. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barrington Research cut their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $113.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 1.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.68.

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 firm had revenue of $183.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.78 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio is 82.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 326 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,298 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 198 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.