U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• U.S. Physical Therapy has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen as of Saturday, indicating increased confidence among analysts regarding the company's stock performance.
• Barrington Research raised its price target for U.S. Physical Therapy shares from $98.00 to $103.00, contributing to a consensus price target of $110.25 among analysts.
• The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and marking an 18.0% increase in revenue year-over-year.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.25.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:USPH traded up $1.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 130,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 113,892. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 1 year low of $62.77 and a 1 year high of $101.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.13 and a 200-day moving average of $76.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 35.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.10. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The company had revenue of $197.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,792 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.57, for a total transaction of $155,133.44. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 22,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,836.22. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Reading sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.53, for a total transaction of $167,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 114,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,529,770.64. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,853 shares of company stock valued at $581,406. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in USPH. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter worth about $18,886,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the first quarter worth about $8,702,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 32.6% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 345,003 shares of the company's stock worth $24,964,000 after purchasing an additional 84,878 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 8.9% during the second quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 888,735 shares of the company's stock worth $69,499,000 after purchasing an additional 72,463 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 120,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,724,000 after buying an additional 59,190 shares during the last quarter.

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.