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

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 14th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share on Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd.

U.S. Physical Therapy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 75.2% per year over the last three years. U.S. Physical Therapy has a payout ratio of 56.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect U.S. Physical Therapy to earn $3.11 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 56.6%.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of USPH stock traded down $8.36 on Wednesday, hitting $81.64. 482,675 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 85,270. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $94.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.90. U.S. Physical Therapy has a one year low of $78.08 and a one year high of $113.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 65.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $167.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $163.34 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 8.03%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on USPH shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $122.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Reading sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.26, for a total transaction of $290,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 95,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,608,717.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Christopher J. Reading sold 2,900 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.26, for a total transaction of $290,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 95,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,608,717.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Reading sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.13, for a total value of $112,343.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,186,241.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.