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

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $75.96 and last traded at $76.63, with a volume of 5868 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on USPH shares. StockNews.com cut U.S. Physical Therapy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $113.00 price target on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.00.

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U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.08.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $180.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $173.10 million. On average, analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 0.6% in the fourth 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 grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 667,868 shares of the company's stock worth $56,522,000 after buying an additional 99,244 shares during the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 571,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,725,000 after buying an additional 24,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $37,818,000 after acquiring an additional 7,890 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.