U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) to Issue $0.44 Quarterly Dividend

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 7th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of 0.44 per share on Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd.

U.S. Physical Therapy has raised its dividend by an average of 75.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. U.S. Physical Therapy has a payout ratio of 57.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect U.S. Physical Therapy to earn $3.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.5%.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE USPH traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $105.01. 19,035 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 68,748. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a PE ratio of 77.33, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 2.28. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 1-year low of $78.08 and a 1-year high of $124.11. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.37.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.07). U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The firm had revenue of $155.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $153.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other news, insider Eric Joseph Williams sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.96, for a total transaction of $157,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,027,197.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Clayton Trier sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total value of $42,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric Joseph Williams sold 1,500 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.96, for a total value of $157,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,027,197.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,829 shares of company stock valued at $1,141,535. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on USPH. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on U.S. Physical Therapy from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.67.

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.