U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,254 shares of the company’s stock after selling 247 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.10% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $1,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 3,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 726 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the fourth quarter worth $113,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy in the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USPH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barrington Research lowered their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com downgraded U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citizens Jmp upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total value of $142,050.30. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $588,564.48. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

NYSE USPH opened at $66.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.59 and a fifty-two week high of $108.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.32 and a 200-day moving average of $86.11. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.37.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, analysts predict that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is presently 97.83%.

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.