Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 766 Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,817 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.53% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $6,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 7.2% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 18,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,212 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 157,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,111 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 23,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 2,808.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.5% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 106,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,841,000 after buying an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on USPH. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. JMP Securities started coverage on U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:USPH opened at $88.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.37, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $91.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.38. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.18 and a 1-year high of $113.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is currently 187.23%.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, Director Bernard A. Harris, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.95, for a total value of $185,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,554,681.70. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total transaction of $49,665.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,970,141.25. The trade was a 2.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,412 shares of company stock valued at $706,605 in the last quarter. 1.70% of the stock is currently 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.