U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Stake Decreased by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,671 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,865 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.36% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $4,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 667,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,522,000 after purchasing an additional 99,244 shares during the period. Southernsun Asset Management LLC grew its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 547,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,302,000 after buying an additional 52,062 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 343,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,040,000 after buying an additional 4,477 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 135.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE USPH opened at $72.52 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.14, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.27 and a 52-week high of $113.63.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.04). U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 3.54%. The company had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.10 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is 97.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.