Bridge City Capital LLC Acquires 4,235 Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Bridge City Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 64,947 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,235 shares during the quarter. U.S. Physical Therapy accounts for about 1.5% of Bridge City Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Bridge City Capital LLC’s holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $5,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of USPH. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 68.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 25.1% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the third quarter worth approximately $356,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 57.6% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 3,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 283.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 12,445 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USPH has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered 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 stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. 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 target price on the stock. Barrington Research dropped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, U.S. Physical Therapy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 2.9 %

NYSE USPH opened at $72.52 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $84.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 77.14, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.63.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $173.10 million. Equities analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is currently 97.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 7,168 shares in the company, valued at $588,564.48. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.