Insider Selling: U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) Director Sells 600 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Nancy Ham, a director of U.S. Physical Therapy, sold 600 shares on September 11th for approximately $49,026, decreasing her position by 23.13%.
• U.S. Physical Therapy reported 18% year-over-year revenue growth and earnings per share (EPS) of $0.81, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.71.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 78.60%.

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) Director Nancy Ham sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $162,929.74. This trade represents a 23.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of USPH traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.30. The company had a trading volume of 88,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,072. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.77 and a 1-year high of $101.19. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 34.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 35.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 3,247 shares of the company's stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Precision Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on USPH shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Barrington Research increased their price target on U.S. Physical Therapy from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, U.S. Physical Therapy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.25.

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.