Fred Alger Management LLC Sells 8,185 Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. $USPH

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC sold 8,185 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc., reducing its holdings by 5.4%, now owning approximately 0.94% of the company, valued at $10.35 million.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for U.S. Physical Therapy, with an average target price increase from $98.00 to $103.00 by Barrington Research.
• CEO Christopher J. Reading and COO Eric Joseph Williams recently sold shares valued at over $250,000 combined, reflecting ongoing insider trading activity.

Fred Alger Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,157 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,185 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 0.94% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $10,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 952.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 442 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 1st quarter valued at about $92,000.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Down 1.7%

USPH stock traded down $1.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.66. The company had a trading volume of 95,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,870. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 35.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.97 and a 200 day moving average of $76.46. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.77 and a 12 month high of $101.19.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $197.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.24 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,792 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.57, for a total value of $155,133.44. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 22,246 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Nancy Ham sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.71, for a total transaction of $49,026.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,994 shares in the company, valued at $162,929.74. This represents a 23.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 6,853 shares of company stock worth $581,406. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USPH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barrington Research upped their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Physical Therapy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.25.

U.S. Physical Therapy Company 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.