U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a dissappointing 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 changing hands.

The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $180.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 3.54%.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 187.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USPH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday. Citizens Jmp raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, U.S. Physical Therapy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total value of $49,665.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,970,141.25. This trade represents a 2.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Physical Therapy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in USPH. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the fourth quarter worth about $18,886,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 135.4% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 260,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,076,000 after acquiring an additional 149,622 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% in the 3rd 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 period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,240,000.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $88.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 87.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.48.

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.