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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd.

U.S. Physical Therapy has raised its dividend by an average of 75.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. U.S. Physical Therapy has a dividend payout ratio of 57.0% meaning 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE USPH traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $104.61. 16,000 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 68,678. U.S. Physical Therapy has a twelve month low of $78.08 and a twelve month high of $124.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.33, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.37.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.51 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 company had revenue of $155.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $153.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on USPH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, U.S. Physical Therapy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.67.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 2,629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.39, for a total transaction of $274,441.31. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $720,499.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Richard Binstein sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.55, for a total transaction of $213,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,889.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 2,629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.39, for a total value of $274,441.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $720,499.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,829 shares of company stock worth $1,141,535 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.