Benjamin Edwards Inc. Raises Stake in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,692 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 251 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of USPH. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the third quarter worth about $82,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the 3rd quarter worth about $232,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 9,269.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,688 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $286,000.

Insider Activity at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, insider Eric Joseph Williams sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.96, for a total value of $157,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,027,197.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.28, for a total transaction of $193,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,186 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,834.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 transaction of $157,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,027,197.44. 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 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on USPH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on U.S. Physical Therapy from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Barrington Research upped their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.67.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock opened at $105.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.01. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.08 and a 12-month high of $124.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 77.93, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 4.67%. The company had revenue of $154.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. U.S. Physical Therapy’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is presently 130.37%.

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.