Peregrine Capital Management LLC Sells 16,304 Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,061 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,304 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.63% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $8,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USPH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 314.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,096 shares of the company's stock worth $6,274,000 after purchasing an additional 47,890 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 1st quarter worth $279,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 11,702 shares of the company's stock worth $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 61.1% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 7,102 shares of the company's stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 46,940 shares of the company's stock worth $4,668,000 after purchasing an additional 14,547 shares during the last quarter.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

NYSE USPH traded down $2.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $104.15. The company had a trading volume of 104,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,013. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.15, a P/E/G ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.75. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.08 and a fifty-two week high of $124.11.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $154.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.24 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on USPH. Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy 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 $125.67.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other news, insider Eric Joseph Williams sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.96, for a total transaction of $157,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,027,197.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Eric Joseph Williams sold 1,500 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.96, for a total transaction of $157,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,027,197.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Clayton Trier sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total transaction of $42,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $749,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,829 shares of company stock valued at $1,141,535. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

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.