U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Given Outperform Rating at Barrington Research

Barrington Research restated their outperform rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $98.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. 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. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $113.00 target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

USPH traded up $2.84 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $81.04. 207,762 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 120,159. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.45. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 12 month low of $62.77 and a 12 month high of $101.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $183.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $176.78 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business's revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Nancy Ham sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 2,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $202,357.94. This trade represents a 13.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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 added to or reduced their stakes in USPH. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 8,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the 4th quarter worth about $3,526,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter worth $203,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 5,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in 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.