Park Avenue Securities LLC Decreases Holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Park Avenue Securities LLC decreased its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,111 shares of the company’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 889 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 20.0% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 227,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,887,000 after purchasing an additional 19,661 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 384,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,310,000 after purchasing an additional 41,414 shares during the period. Finally, Bridge City Capital LLC raised its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 31,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,878,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:USPH opened at $92.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $100.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.89. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.08 and a 1-year high of $124.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.14, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.40.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $155.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $153.30 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 4.72%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 143.09%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Reading sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.13, for a total value of $112,343.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,186,241.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Christopher J. Reading sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.26, for a total transaction of $290,754.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 95,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,608,717.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Reading sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.13, for a total transaction of $112,343.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,738 shares in the company, valued at $10,186,241.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,724 shares of company stock valued at $1,114,385 in the last 90 days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on USPH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Physical Therapy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.50.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

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.