U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barrington Research reduced their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Citizens Jmp raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.50.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Down 1.6 %

USPH opened at $81.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.67. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 1-year low of $76.18 and a 1-year high of $113.63.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. Analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The company 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 represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total transaction of $49,665.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,970,141.25. This represents a 2.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Physical Therapy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period.

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.