U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Trading 15.4% Higher After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• U.S. Physical Therapy's shares surged 15.4% to $83.87 following a quarterly earnings report that exceeded analysts' expectations, posting an EPS of $0.81 compared to the anticipated $0.71.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, representing a 2.1% yield and indicating an 82.57% dividend payout ratio.
• Brokerages have generally rated the stock positively, with price targets ranging from $98.00 to $113.00, contributing to an overall "Moderate Buy" rating from analysts.

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) was up 15.4% on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $85.12 and last traded at $83.87. Approximately 28,454 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 139,185 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.69.

The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $197.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.24 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 5.05%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. U.S. Physical Therapy's payout ratio is 78.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on USPH shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $113.00 target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barrington Research boosted their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, U.S. Physical Therapy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.25.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, Director Nancy Ham sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.01, for a total transaction of $31,204.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $202,357.94. This represents a 13.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 888,735 shares of the company's stock worth $69,499,000 after buying an additional 72,463 shares during the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 571,809 shares of the company's stock worth $50,725,000 after purchasing an additional 24,698 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 426,298 shares of the company's stock worth $37,818,000 after acquiring an additional 7,890 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 352,923 shares of the company's stock worth $27,602,000 after buying an additional 4,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 346,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,070,000 after buying an additional 29,671 shares in the last quarter.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 1.1%

The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.97, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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.