Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 952.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 442 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $32,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 35.0% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Down 2.9%

NYSE USPH opened at $85.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.18. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a one year low of $62.77 and a one year high of $101.19. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.52, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.45.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.10. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The business had revenue of $197.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Nancy Ham sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.01, for a total transaction of $31,204.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,357.94. This represents a 13.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,792 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.57, for a total transaction of $155,133.44. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 22,246 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,836.22. The trade was a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on USPH. Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $113.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.25.

U.S. Physical Therapy 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.