Quantbot Technologies LP Sells 3,519 Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 32.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,357 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,519 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in USPH. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 3,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 726 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the fourth quarter worth $113,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on USPH shares. Bank of America raised U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JMP Securities started coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.00.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total transaction of $142,050.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $588,564.48. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of USPH stock opened at $72.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 77.47, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.63. 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 one year low of $72.15 and a one year high of $113.63.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The firm had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.10 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.83%.

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.