King Luther Capital Management Corp Trims Stake in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lowered its position in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 839,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,459,000 after purchasing an additional 72,715 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised 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. Southernsun Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 547,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,302,000 after acquiring an additional 52,062 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 343,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,040,000 after acquiring an additional 4,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 135.4% in the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 260,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,076,000 after acquiring an additional 149,622 shares in the last quarter.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of USPH stock opened at $76.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.80, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.18 and a fifty-two week high of $113.63. 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 50 day moving average price of $86.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.43.

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

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total value of $142,050.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,564.48. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on USPH. Citizens Jmp raised U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 target price on the stock. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Physical Therapy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.50.

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.