U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its position in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,254 shares of the company’s stock after selling 247 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $1,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of USPH. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 135.4% during the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 260,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,076,000 after buying an additional 149,622 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 99,244 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 839,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,459,000 after purchasing an additional 72,715 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy in the 4th quarter valued at $6,240,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,526,000.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Down 2.7 %

USPH opened at $66.96 on Friday. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.59 and a 12-month high of $108.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 71.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $81.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.11.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last issued 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 company 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total value of $142,050.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $588,564.48. The trade was a 19.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on USPH shares. Barrington Research decreased their target price on U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.00.

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.