U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 454,200 shares, a decline of 15.7% from the February 28th total of 538,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 105,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USPH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note 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. lowered their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Barrington Research reduced their target price on U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 7,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $588,564.48. The trade was a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 59.8% in the fourth 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. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 3,200.0% during the 4th 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. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter valued at about $113,000.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of NYSE:USPH traded down $3.82 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $68.71. 81,980 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 103,372. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 73.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.37. U.S. Physical Therapy has a fifty-two week low of $68.31 and a fifty-two week high of $112.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.34. 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 (NYSE:USPH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio 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.