U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $71.90 and last traded at $72.83, with a volume of 429 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on USPH. Bank of America raised U.S. Physical Therapy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $113.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut U.S. Physical Therapy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barrington Research lowered their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.00.

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U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.73.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $180.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 3.54%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from U.S. Physical Therapy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio is presently 97.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total transaction of $142,050.30. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,564.48. The trade was a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,084,197 shares of the company's stock worth $96,179,000 after purchasing an additional 6,393 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 839,356 shares of the company's stock worth $74,459,000 after buying an additional 72,715 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 667,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,522,000 after buying an additional 99,244 shares during the period. Southernsun Asset Management LLC boosted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 571,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,725,000 after acquiring an additional 24,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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.

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.