U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,091 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,274 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.55% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $7,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of USPH. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 8,414.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $212,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on USPH shares. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.50.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 1.6 %

USPH stock opened at $81.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 86.26, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.48. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.60. 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 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces 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 given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is 95.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total value of $49,665.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,469 shares in the company, valued at $1,970,141.25. The trade was a 2.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.