U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Shares Sold by Alpine Peaks Capital LP

Alpine Peaks Capital LP lowered its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) by 28.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,934 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,203 shares during the quarter. U.S. Physical Therapy accounts for about 5.5% of Alpine Peaks Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Alpine Peaks Capital LP owned approximately 0.50% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $6,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 112,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,021,000 after purchasing an additional 2,465 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 343,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,040,000 after buying an additional 4,477 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 839,356 shares of the company's stock worth $74,459,000 after buying an additional 72,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter valued at $3,526,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total value of $142,050.30. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,168 shares in the company, valued at $588,564.48. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on USPH. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barrington Research reduced their price target on 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. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $113.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, U.S. Physical Therapy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

USPH stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.47. 24,405 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 110,086. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.77 and a twelve month high of $108.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.38.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.04). U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 3.54%. The firm had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.10 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.83%.

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.