7,500 Shares in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $699,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned 0.05% of U.S. Physical Therapy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in USPH. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 3rd quarter worth $82,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy during the third quarter worth $232,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 9,269.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the company's stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 2,688 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 47.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the period. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the third quarter worth about $286,000.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE USPH traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $100.61. 30,485 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 73,982. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a one year low of $78.08 and a one year high of $124.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.46.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $154.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $150.24 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from U.S. Physical Therapy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio is 130.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on USPH. Barrington Research raised their target price on U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report 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 report on Monday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.67.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, Director Clayton Trier sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $749,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Clayton Trier sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total transaction of $42,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $749,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 2,629 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.39, for a total transaction of $274,441.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $720,499.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, 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.