Northern Trust Corp Increases Position in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 261,825 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,024 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.73% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $23,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USPH. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 326 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3,200.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 726 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter valued at about $113,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,298 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total transaction of $142,050.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,168 shares in the company, valued at $588,564.48. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of USPH traded up $1.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $79.90. The company had a trading volume of 117,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 110,351. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.77 and a fifty-two week high of $107.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 3.54%. The business had revenue of $183.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.78 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. U.S. Physical Therapy's payout ratio is currently 82.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USPH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barrington Research lowered their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $113.00 target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.00.

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.