U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Hits New 1-Year High Following Strong Earnings

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $100.98 and last traded at $99.4060, with a volume of 19,499 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $89.18.

The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $222.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.48 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.97% and a return on equity of 9.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is presently 1,082.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on USPH. Barrington Research increased their price target on U.S. Physical Therapy from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.25.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Physical Therapy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in USPH. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $155,505,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 940,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,632,000 after purchasing an additional 98,984 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 554,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,574,000 after purchasing an additional 54,656 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 507,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,035,000 after purchasing an additional 15,668 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,013,000.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Up 10.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.40 and a 200 day moving average of $76.92. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 580.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.16.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc (NYSE: USPH) operates outpatient physical therapy clinics throughout the United States. The company provides treatment and rehabilitation services for patients recovering from injuries, surgeries, illnesses and other conditions that affect movement, strength and physical function.

In addition to company-operated clinics, U.S. Physical Therapy develops and manages physical therapy practices in partnership with local physical therapists. Its services generally include orthopedic and sports rehabilitation, post-operative therapy, treatment for musculoskeletal conditions and other forms of outpatient rehabilitation.