Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Makes New Investment in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 9,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in USPH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,084,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,179,000 after purchasing an additional 6,393 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 839,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,459,000 after buying an additional 72,715 shares during the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 571,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,725,000 after acquiring an additional 24,698 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 426,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,818,000 after acquiring an additional 7,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 299,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,594,000 after acquiring an additional 50,163 shares during the period.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

NYSE:USPH opened at $72.43 on Friday. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.77 and a 52-week high of $108.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.14 and a 200 day moving average of $84.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.38.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $180.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. On average, research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on USPH shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $113.00 target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Barrington Research cut their target price on U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total value of $142,050.30. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $588,564.48. This represents a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.00% 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.