Raymond James & Associates Raises Stock Holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,699 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,468 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $1,462,000 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 USPH. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 754.7% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy during the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 348.9% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 82.1% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 99.3% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

NYSE USPH opened at $97.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.30, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $104.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.00. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.08 and a 1 year high of $124.11.

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

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. This is a boost from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is presently 130.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 2,629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.39, for a total transaction of $274,441.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $720,499.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, insider Eric Joseph Williams sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.96, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 2,629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.39, for a total value of $274,441.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 6,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $720,499.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,829 shares of company stock valued at $1,141,535 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USPH has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on U.S. Physical Therapy from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Barrington Research upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.67.

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.