U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Upgraded by Bank of America to “Buy” Rating

Bank of America upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Bank of America currently has $115.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $100.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on USPH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE USPH opened at $95.71 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $89.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.46. U.S. Physical Therapy has a one year low of $76.18 and a one year high of $113.63.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is presently 187.23%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other news, Director Nancy Ham sold 1,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.72, for a total transaction of $113,355.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,112 shares in the company, valued at $107,552.64. This trade represents a 51.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric Joseph Williams sold 2,000 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.84, for a total value of $191,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,419,773.76. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,412 shares of company stock worth $706,605. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 2,808.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1,291.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 515 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the second quarter worth $51,000.

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.