U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on USPH. Barrington Research cut their price target 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. 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. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.50.

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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.17 and a 200-day moving average of $87.37.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.04). U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 3.54%. The company had revenue of $180.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.10 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.83%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total value 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 $588,564.48. This represents a 19.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3,200.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 726 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 68.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter valued at about $84,000.

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.