Bard Associates Inc. Decreases Position in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Bard Associates Inc. lowered its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 48,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,350 shares during the period. U.S. Physical Therapy comprises 1.5% of Bard Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Bard Associates Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $4,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of USPH. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 135.4% during the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 260,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,076,000 after buying an additional 149,622 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 5,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter worth $203,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,970,141.25. This trade represents a 2.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on USPH. Citizens Jmp upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JMP Securities began coverage on U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barrington Research cut their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to 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 Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:USPH opened at $79.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 84.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.48. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.18 and a 52-week high of $113.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.65. 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 (NYSE:USPH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. 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 yield of 2.27%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is currently 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.