Bard Associates Inc. Trims Stake in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Bard Associates Inc. lessened its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,350 shares during the period. U.S. Physical Therapy comprises approximately 1.5% of Bard Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Bard Associates Inc. owned 0.32% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $4,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in USPH. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 283.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 12,445 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 667,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,522,000 after buying an additional 99,244 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 57,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,838,000 after acquiring an additional 6,154 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 113.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 8,604 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on USPH shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barrington Research cut their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.50.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Down 2.1 %

USPH opened at $79.31 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $88.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 84.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.48. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a one year low of $76.18 and a one year high of $113.63.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is 97.83%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total value of $49,665.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,970,141.25. The trade was a 2.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.