Principal Securities Inc. Acquires 653 Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,293 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 653 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% in 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. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter worth about $113,000. True North Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 8,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $777,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC boosted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albert D Mason Inc. grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 10,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $940,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USPH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JMP Securities began coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total transaction of $49,665.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,469 shares in the company, valued at $1,970,141.25. This represents a 2.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:USPH opened at $83.91 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.74. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.18 and a 12-month high of $113.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.26, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.48.

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.