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

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $62.77 and last traded at $66.26, with a volume of 33386 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $67.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on USPH shares. StockNews.com raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $113.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised U.S. Physical Therapy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $100.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barrington Research cut their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, U.S. Physical Therapy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.00.

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U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Up 0.7 %

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 fifty day moving average of $78.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.31. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 73.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.38.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The firm had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $173.10 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. U.S. Physical Therapy's payout ratio is 97.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total transaction of $142,050.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $588,564.48. The trade was a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,833 shares of the company's stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 326 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 10,596 shares of the company's stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in 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.