U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $97.50.

USPH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $113.00 to $98.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barrington Research cut their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research cut shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard Binstein sold 3,000 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total value of $244,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,030,141.88. The trade was a 10.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 662 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $52,205.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 30,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,371,951.08. This trade represents a 2.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of USPH. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Up 0.5%

USPH stock opened at $62.28 on Wednesday. U.S. Physical Therapy has a twelve month low of $58.19 and a twelve month high of $93.50. The company has a market cap of $947.84 million, a PE ratio of 124.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.09). U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 4.36%.The firm had revenue of $198.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.94 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is 368.00%.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc (NYSE: USPH) is a leading owner and operator of outpatient physical therapy clinics across the United States. The company delivers rehabilitative care to patients recovering from orthopedic injuries, neurological disorders and chronic conditions. Its core services include one-on-one physical therapy sessions, aquatic therapy, occupational therapy, massage therapy and sports medicine programs designed to restore mobility and enhance quality of life.

In addition to traditional rehabilitation services, U.S.