U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $69.99 and last traded at $70.70, with a volume of 2506 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp raised U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JMP Securities initiated coverage on U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barrington Research decreased their target price on U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 75.89, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $83.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.59.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last issued its 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 net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The firm had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.10 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total transaction of $142,050.30. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,168 shares in the company, valued at $588,564.48. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 59.8% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring 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.