U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Hits New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock 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

Several analysts recently issued reports on USPH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Barrington Research lowered their target price on U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered U.S. Physical Therapy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $113.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Physical Therapy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.00.

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U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.04). U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 3.54%. The firm had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.10 million. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.83%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total transaction of $142,050.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,168 shares in the company, valued at $588,564.48. This represents a 19.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 283.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 12,445 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 57.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 99,244 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 12.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 57,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,838,000 after acquiring an additional 6,154 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 343,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,040,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477 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.