U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Trading Up 15.8% Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) shot up 15.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $95.61 and last traded at $95.61. 75,343 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 90,349 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.53.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 166.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on USPH. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price (down previously from $114.00) on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 1.9 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.91, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.38.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.09). U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The firm had revenue of $167.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $163.34 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, Director Kathleen A. Gilmartin bought 2,000 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $86.09 per share, with a total value of $172,180.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,627,445.36. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.50, for a total transaction of $142,230.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $580,635. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathleen A. Gilmartin purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $86.09 per share, with a total value of $172,180.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,904 shares in the company, valued at $1,627,445.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,072,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,065,000 after buying an additional 10,175 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 2.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 423,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,173,000 after acquiring an additional 10,462 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 239,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,179,000 after purchasing an additional 9,434 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 157,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,111 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.5% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 106,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter.

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.