Southernsun Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Southernsun Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 571,809 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 24,698 shares during the quarter. U.S. Physical Therapy comprises 6.3% of Southernsun Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Southernsun Asset Management LLC owned about 3.79% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $50,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 62,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,503,000 after buying an additional 4,864 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 59.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,666,000 after buying an additional 6,959 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 426,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,818,000 after purchasing an additional 7,890 shares during the period.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of USPH opened at $66.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.83, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.38. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.77 and a 12 month high of $108.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.71. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $180.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.10 million. Research analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.83%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total value 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 approximately $588,564.48. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barrington Research reduced 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned 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.com, U.S. Physical Therapy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.