Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. $USPH

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.6%, selling 46,555 shares, and now owns 967,222 shares valued at approximately $69.99 million.
• U.S. Physical Therapy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, which will be paid on September 12th, resulting in a 2.1% dividend yield.
• Despite recent insider sales, analysts are optimistic about the stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $110.25.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 967,222 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,555 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned approximately 6.37% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $69,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,030 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $92,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, Director Nancy Ham sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.01, for a total transaction of $31,204.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,594 shares in the company, valued at $202,357.94. This trade represents a 13.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total transaction of $60,104.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,394,546.88. This trade represents a 2.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,653 shares of company stock worth $311,274 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barrington Research lifted 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, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Physical Therapy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.25.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Down 2.0%

U.S. Physical Therapy stock traded down $1.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $82.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 78,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,880. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.83 and a 200-day moving average of $76.85. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a one year low of $62.77 and a one year high of $101.19. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 36.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.45.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $197.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.24 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 5.05%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

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

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.