The Joint (JYNT) to Enter Puerto Rico With New Franchise Deal

The Joint Corp. JYNT shares have risen 5% since the company announced that it made a deal to enter the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico on Mar 17. The company made a deal with Dr. Jason Comerford, D.C. and Major Jeanette Comerford, a military husband and wife team, to open two clinics in the new region.

The move marks The Joint’s first franchise deal outside the continental United States. The clinics are expected to focus on the South San Juan and Guaynabo regions, while the first one is scheduled to open this fall. The company is focused on expanding its portfolio with quality acquisitions and new openings.

The military husband and wife team is slated to bring their first The Joint location online in Fort Pierce, FL, this spring. Entering the market of Puerto Rico is expected to further strengthen the team’s partnership with JYNT. The Comerfords are expected to bring their experience of operating multiple private chiropractic practices in South Florida to the new regions.

The expansionary move is expected to be a prudent one for JYNT, given the growing demand for affordable and convenient chiropractic care in the region. The new clinics are expected to increase patient visits. It witnesses more than 12 million patient visits per annum and currently operates in more than 800 locations in the country.

The move is likely to accelerate The Joint’s franchise clinic growth. For 2023, the company targets to open 100-120 franchised clinic openings compared with the 2021 and 2022 figures of 110 and 121, respectively. Furthermore, company-owned or managed greenfield clinic growth is likely to be within 8-12 for 2023 compared with 16 last year.

The new clinics are expected to boost The Joint’s performance in the long term. However, the company might witness some hiccups with rising cost levels in the short term. Its 2022 total cost of revenues rose 15.5% year over year while total selling, general and administrative expenses jumped 33.8%. Rising costs are likely to affect its margins in the days ahead.

Price Performance

Shares of JYNT have declined 51.5% in the past year compared with the 4.4% fall of the industry it belongs to.

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Zacks Rank & Key Picks

The Joint currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Investors interested in the broader medical space may look at players like Avanos Medical, Inc. AVNS, Viemed Healthcare, Inc. VMD and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated UNH, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Avanos Medical’s 2023 earnings predicts 1.8% year-over-year growth. AVNS beat earnings estimates in all the past four quarters, with the average being 11%.

The consensus mark for Viemed’s 2023 earnings indicates an 87.5% year-over-year increase. Furthermore, the consensus estimate for VMD’s revenues in 2023 suggests 15% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UnitedHealth’s 2023 earnings suggests 12.3% year-over-year growth. Also, the consensus mark for UNH’s 2023 revenues suggests 10.7% year-over-year growth.

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