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

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USPH. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted 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 buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter worth $84,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the first quarter worth $92,000.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

U.S. Physical Therapy stock traded down $0.18 on Friday, hitting $82.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,140. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.45. 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 moving average price of $79.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.82. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a one year low of $62.77 and a one year high of $101.19.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USPH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barrington Research boosted 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. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Physical Therapy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,792 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.57, for a total value of $155,133.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 22,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,925,836.22. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 698 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total value of $60,104.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,394,546.88. This trade represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,653 shares of company stock worth $311,274. 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.