U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Raised to "Buy" at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $115.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $100.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on USPH. StockNews.com upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Physical Therapy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock traded up $2.10 on Monday, reaching $95.56. 119,458 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 93,600. U.S. Physical Therapy has a twelve month low of $76.18 and a twelve month high of $113.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.43, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.89.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. U.S. Physical Therapy's payout ratio is 187.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,724 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.29, for a total transaction of $166,003.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,106 shares in the company, valued at $684,236.74. The trade was a 19.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total value of $49,665.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,469 shares in the company, valued at $1,970,141.25. This trade represents a 2.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,412 shares of company stock worth $706,605. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of USPH. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 343,073 shares of the company's stock worth $29,040,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the third quarter valued at approximately $573,000. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 12.7% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 11,826 shares of the company's stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 10.5% in the third quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 547,111 shares of the company's stock worth $46,302,000 after acquiring an additional 52,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position 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.

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.