U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $87.72, but opened at $82.09. U.S. Physical Therapy shares last traded at $79.47, with a volume of 23,720 shares trading hands.

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 business had revenue of $180.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.10 million.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is currently 95.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on USPH. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Thursday. Barrington Research reduced their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JMP Securities started coverage on U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, U.S. Physical Therapy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was 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 $1,970,141.25. The trade was a 2.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

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

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Down 1.6 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.26, a PEG 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.

U.S. Physical Therapy Company Profile

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.