Fred Alger Management LLC Has $10.35 Million Stock Position in 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 lessened its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,157 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,185 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 0.94% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $10,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of USPH. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position 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 period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the first quarter worth about $92,000.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE USPH traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $81.97. The company had a trading volume of 121,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 123,798. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.47. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.77 and a 12 month high of $101.19. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $80.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.63.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 5.05%.The firm had revenue of $197.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $190.24 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors 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 is Friday, August 22nd. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USPH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised U.S. Physical Therapy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barrington Research raised their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Physical Therapy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.25.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, Director Nancy Ham sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.71, for a total value of $49,026.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,994 shares in the company, valued at $162,929.74. This trade represents a 23.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 763 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.97, for a total value of $64,832.11. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 21,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,825,410.51. This trade represents a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,853 shares of company stock worth $581,406 over the last quarter. 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.