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

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. 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). The business had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 3.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USPH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 company from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JMP Securities started coverage on shares of 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $114.00.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Physical Therapy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter worth $18,886,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 135.4% in the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 260,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,076,000 after purchasing an additional 149,622 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 667,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,522,000 after acquiring an additional 99,244 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 839,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,459,000 after acquiring an additional 72,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the fourth quarter worth $6,240,000.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Down 8.7 %

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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $88.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.70. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.48.

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.