Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Acquires 84,878 Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. $USPH

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. has increased its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 32.6%, acquiring an additional 84,878 shares to reach a total of 345,003 shares worth approximately $24.96 million.
• Brokerages have generally issued positive ratings for U.S. Physical Therapy, with targets rising; for example, Barrington Research increased its price objective from $98.00 to $103.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.1%, with a dividend payout ratio of 78.60%.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) by 32.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 345,003 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 84,878 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 2.27% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $24,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 952.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 442 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter worth $84,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 34.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,030 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the first quarter worth $92,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on USPH. Barrington Research increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.25.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

USPH stock opened at $87.5170 on Friday. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.77 and a 52 week high of $101.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 1.45.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.10. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The business had revenue of $197.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. U.S. Physical Therapy's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Nancy Ham sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.01, for a total value of $31,204.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,357.94. This trade represents a 13.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 763 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.97, for a total transaction of $64,832.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 21,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,825,410.51. This trade represents a 3.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,955 shares of company stock valued at $251,170 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

U.S. Physical Therapy 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.

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