Legal & General Group Plc Invests $2.34 Million in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. $USPH

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 34,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,339,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 370,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,949,000 after buying an additional 24,848 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 582.7% during the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 41,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,224,000 after buying an additional 35,237 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 23.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 76,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,769,000 after acquiring an additional 14,582 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 6.5% in the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 836,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,729,000 after acquiring an additional 50,717 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the second quarter valued at about $155,505,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on USPH. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Barrington Research boosted their price target on U.S. Physical Therapy from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.50.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

USPH stock opened at $79.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.19 and a 12 month high of $93.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 465.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $76.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.43.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $214.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.36 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 9.39% and a net margin of 3.97%.The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,082.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, Director Peter Francis Minan purchased 492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.14 per share, for a total transaction of $31,064.88. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,558.22. This trade represents a 20.24% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc (NYSE: USPH) is a leading owner and operator of outpatient physical therapy clinics across the United States. The company delivers rehabilitative care to patients recovering from orthopedic injuries, neurological disorders and chronic conditions. Its core services include one-on-one physical therapy sessions, aquatic therapy, occupational therapy, massage therapy and sports medicine programs designed to restore mobility and enhance quality of life.

In addition to traditional rehabilitation services, U.S.